Question

U-235 undergoes many different fission reactions. For one such reaction, when U-235 is struck with a neutron, Ce-144 and Sr-90 are produced along with some neutrons and electrons. How many neutrons and -particles are produced in this fission reaction?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

A nuclear fission reaction is defined as the reaction in which a heavy nucleus splits into small nuclei along with release of energy.

The given reaction is
`^(235)_(92)U + ^(1)_(0)n \rightarrow ^(144)_(58)Ce + ^(90)_(38)Sr + x^(1)_(0)n + y^(0)_(-1)\beta`

Now, we balance the mass on both reactant and product side as follows.

235 + 1 =
`144 + 90 + (x * 1) + (y * 0)`

236 = 234 + x

x = 236 -234

= 2

So, now we balance the charge on both reactant and product side as follows.

92 + 0 =
`58 + 38 + (x * 0) + (y * -1)`

92 = 96 - y

y = 4

Thus, we can conclude that there are 2 neutrons and 4 beta-particles are produced in the given reaction.

Therefore, reaction equation will be as follows.

`^(235)_(92)U + ^(1)_(0)n \rightarrow ^(144)_(58)Ce + ^(90)_(38)Sr + 2^(1)_(0)n + 4^(0)_(-1)\beta`