Nuclear fission is explored interactively, and learners write balanced fission reaction equations.
After completing this tutorial, you will be able to complete the following:
Nuclear fission occurs when neutrons collide with the nuclei of certain heavy atoms, causing it to split into two pieces. This results in the release of energy, gamma radiation, alpha radiation, and new neutrons. If one neutron from each fission reaction is captured and successfully produces fission, a controlled chain reaction is produced. If more than one neutron from each fission reaction causes another fission reaction, the number of neutrons and rate of energy production will increase. This results in an uncontrolled chain reaction.
Control rods are used to help control the rate of a fission reaction. Control rods manage the number of free neutrons allowed to reach massive atoms in the core of the reactor. Limiting the number of free neutrons limits the fission reaction rate, which could stop all fission.
The number of protons and neutrons are conserved during a fission reaction. To balance a fission reaction equation, the sum of protons and neutrons on the reactant's side of the equation must be equal to the number of protons and neutrons on the product's side of the equation.
|Approximate Time||20 Minutes|
|Pre-requisite Concepts||atomic structure, chemical reactions, energy|
|Type of Tutorial||Concept Development|
|Key Vocabulary||atom, control rods, energy|