Question

Which of the following is true about nuclear fission?

Question 2 options:


The mass of the products are greater than the mass of the reactants.


The mass of the products are the same as the mass of the reactants.


The mass of the products are less than that of the reactants.


The mass of the products are 100 times greater than the mass of the reactants.

Answer 1

If you add the masses of all the products after fission, they are LESS than the mass of the reactants.

Explanation:

A nuclear fission reaction is a radioactive reaction which in which a heavy nucleus spontaneously disintegrates into 2 lighter nuclei and some neutrons with a release of large amount of energy.

When nuclear fission occurs, a mass deficit between the decaying nuclei and the product occurs. It is this mass that actually yields the energy that is produced as a by product of the reaction.