Year 10 Science · Unit 2 · Lesson 26

Nuclear Fission and Fusion

Challenge Worksheet

Name
Date
Class

Learning Goals

Go Deeper

Find the mistakes

A student wrote these five statements in their revision notes

  1. "In nuclear fission, two light nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus."
  2. "Nuclear fusion is the process used in nuclear power stations on Earth today."
  3. "A chain reaction happens because each fission event releases protons that split more nuclei."
  4. "Nuclear reactions release energy because atoms are chemically bonded together, just like in combustion."
  5. "Fusion needs only normal room temperature and pressure because light nuclei join easily."

1. Identify the error in statement 1 and write the correct description of nuclear fission.

Challenge 1 mark

2. Correct statement 2. Which process is actually used in today's power stations, and where does fusion currently occur naturally?

Challenge 1 mark

3. Correct statement 3. Which particle is actually released that keeps a chain reaction going, and how does it do this?

Challenge 1 mark

Go Deeper (continued)

4. Correct statement 4. Explain why nuclear reactions release far more energy than chemical reactions, referring to mass being converted to energy following E = mc².

Challenge 2 marks

5. Correct statement 5. Explain why fusion requires extreme temperature and pressure, and state why this makes it hard to use as a power source on Earth.

Challenge 2 marks

Show What You Know

1. A fission reaction is written as 23592U + 10n → 14156Ba + 9236Kr + ?10n. Work out how many neutrons are produced by showing that the mass numbers and atomic numbers balance on both sides.

Challenge 3 marks

Wrap Up

If fusion could be controlled on Earth, why might it be a better long-term energy source than fission? Give one clear reason.

HSCScience · Year 10 Science · Unit 2 · Lesson 26 · Challenge Worksheet