Grade 12 Nuclear Changes Worksheet
Explore nuclear changes including radioactive decay, half-life, nuclear fission, and fusion with this Grade 12 science worksheet.
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Grade 12 Nuclear Changes
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Read each question carefully and provide your best answer. Show all work for calculations.
1. Which type of radioactive decay results in the emission of an electron?
Alpha decay
Beta-minus decay
Gamma decay
Positron emission
2. What is the primary difference between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion?
Fission releases less energy than fusion.
Fission involves splitting nuclei, fusion involves combining nuclei.
Fusion is used in nuclear power plants, fission in atomic bombs.
Fission requires extremely high temperatures, fusion does not.
3. The time it takes for half of the radioactive nuclei in a sample to decay is called its .
4. Nuclear reactions involve changes within the of an atom, unlike chemical reactions.
5. Describe the process of alpha decay and write a general nuclear equation for it.
6. A chain reaction is a self-sustaining series of nuclear fissions.
True
False
7. Observe the diagram of an atomic nucleus below. What fundamental particles are represented within the nucleus?
Match the term on the left with its definition on the right.
8. Radioisotope
a. The process of combining light nuclei to form a heavier nucleus.
9. Nuclear Fusion
b. An unstable isotope that undergoes radioactive decay.
10. Binding Energy
c. The energy required to break a nucleus into its constituent protons and neutrons.