liamkk112
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- HSC
- 2023
the question is screwed; nuclei heavier than iron will have an increase in mass in fusion reactions, as energy will need to be absorbed for the nuclei to combine. nuclei lighter than iron will have a decrease in mass as energy will be released as the nuclei combine. so technically C and D are both correct, depending on which nuclei are fusing.View attachment 41243
Can someone explain why the answer is D and not C? (question from PHS)
btw, the heavier and lighter than iron is to do with the fact that iron nuclei are the most stable and hence have the most binding energy per nucleon. then all elements lighter release energy by fusion, all events heavier absorb energy by fusion (classic graph)