One way to think about different sources of energy is in ter

One way to think about different sources of energy is in terms of how much energy you can extract from one kilogram of fuel. The chemical combustion (burning) of gasoline releases about 4 x 107 J from each kilogram of gasoline.
a) How much energy is involved in one reaction of 92235U 60150Nd+ 3281Ge+ 401n    ? Is this energy released or absorbed?

b) If you have one kilogram of 235U, and every 235U atom undergoes the reaction in part (a), how many Joules of energy are there from that one kilogram?

c) How much energy is involved in one reaction 212H 23He+ 01n ? Is this energy released or absorbed?

d) If you have one kilogram of 2H, how much energy is there if every atom is involved in this reaction? Be careful – it takes two atoms for one reaction!

e) Which process – burning gasoline, nuclear fusion, or nuclear fission – produces the most energy per kilogram?

Solution

a) How much energy is involved in one reaction of 92235U 60150Nd+ 3281Ge+ 401n    ? Is this energy released or absorbed?

Energy released

b) If you have one kilogram of 235U, and every 235U atom undergoes the reaction in part (a), how many Joules of energy are there from that one kilogram?

235kJ

c) How much energy is involved in one reaction 212H 23He+ 01n ? Is this energy released or absorbed?

Absorbed

d) If you have one kilogram of 2H, how much energy is there if every atom is involved in this reaction?

2 kJ

e) Which process – burning gasoline, nuclear fusion, or nuclear fission – produces the most energy per kilogram?

nuclear fusion