plumiBinding energy, fission and fusion: Edexcel International A Level Physics questions
Every Edexcel International A Level Physics exam question on Binding energy, fission and fusion (specification points 133–136), 2019–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.
Paper
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Calculations
- Your answer
Q20(b)(i)
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Q21(b)
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The whole paper ↗Q21(a)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q21(a)(iii)
The whole paper ↗Q19(a)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q19(a)(ii)
The whole paper ↗- Your answer
Q19(a)
The whole paper ↗Q19(b)
The whole paper ↗Q21(a)
The whole paper ↗Q21(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q21(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗- Your answer
- Your answer
Q13(a)
The whole paper ↗Q13(b)
The whole paper ↗Q16(a)
The whole paper ↗
All 51 questions on Binding energy, fission and fusion, as a list
- June 2025, Unit 5, Q3 (1 mark): Energy is released when the fusion of low mass nuclei takes place. Energy is also released when the fission of high mass nuclei takes place. Which row of the ta
- June 2025, Unit 5, Q20(b)(i) (4 marks): Show that the energy released in the decay of one nucleus of plutonium‑238 is about 5.7 MeV. mass of plutonium nucleus = 3.9516 × 10 –25 kg mass of uranium nucl
- January 2025, Unit 5, Q4 (1 mark): The graph shows how the binding energy (B.E.) per nucleon varies with the number of nucleons. The positions of three isotopes, P, Q and R, are marked on the cur
- January 2025, Unit 5, Q21(b) (4 marks): The most stable isotope of promethium is Pm‑145. Calculate the binding energy per nucleon for nucleons in a nucleus of Pm‑145. Give your answer in MeV. mass of
- October 2024, Unit 5, Q20(b) (6 marks): Explain the conditions that were required to bring about and maintain fusion in the core of the Sun. (6)
- October 2024, Unit 5, Q21(a)(ii) (5 marks): The mass of a nucleus of uranium‑241 is 241.06033 u. Show that the binding energy of a nucleus of uranium-241 is about 3 × 10 –10 J. mass of neutron = 1.68 × 10
- October 2024, Unit 5, Q21(a)(iii) (2 marks): Calculate the binding energy per nucleon of uranium‑241 in MeV. (2) Binding energy per nucleon = MeV
- June 2024, Unit 5, Q19(a)(i) (4 marks): Show that when 4 protons form a helium nucleus the energy released is about –12 J. 4.3 × 10 (4)
- June 2024, Unit 5, Q19(a)(ii) (5 marks): A scientist claimed that it would take 9 × 10 hydrogen in the Sun to be fused into helium. Assess the accuracy of this claim. You should consider the rate of pr
- January 2024, Unit 5, Q3 (1 mark): The mass of a muon is 0.113 u. Which of the following is equal to the equivalent mass‑energy, in joules, of the muon? A 0.113 × (3.0 × 10 8 ) 2 0 113 . B × 108
- January 2024, Unit 5, Q19(a) (2 marks): Explain why energy is released when a nucleus undergoes fission. (2)
- January 2024, Unit 5, Q19(b) (3 marks): A nucleus of Estimate the energy, in MeV, released in the fission. You should use values from the graph. (3) Energy released = MeV
- January 2024, Unit 5, Q21(a) (6 marks): Explain the conditions required to bring about and maintain fusion in a main sequence star. (6)
- January 2024, Unit 5, Q21(b)(i) (4 marks): Calculate the binding energy per nucleon, in J, of a helium nucleus. mass of proton = 938.28 MeV / c 2 mass of neutron = 939.57 MeV / c 2 mass of helium nucleus
- January 2024, Unit 5, Q21(b)(ii) (2 marks): The binding energy per nucleon of helium is relatively large. Explain why this makes the helium nucleus particularly stable. (2)
- October 2023, Unit 5, Q1 (1 mark): Fusion reactions are the primary energy source of stars. Which row of the table gives the conditions necessary for fusion in stars? Density Temperature A high h
- October 2023, Unit 5, Q3 (1 mark): Which of the following statements about nuclear binding energy (B.E.) is correct? A B.E. per nucleon increases steadily as proton number increases. B B.E. per n
- October 2023, Unit 5, Q13(a) (4 marks): Calculate the minimum energy, in MeV, required for the reaction to take place. (4) Nuclide Mass / 10 –27 kg 17O 28.2185 14N 23.2451 4He 6.64432 1H 1.67299 Minim
- October 2023, Unit 5, Q13(b) (2 marks): Explain why the alpha particle must have an energy greater than the minimum energy for the reaction to take place. (2)
- June 2023, Unit 5, Q16(a) (4 marks): Determine the energy, in J, released when a nucleus of thorium-230 emits an alpha particle. (4) Energy released = J
- June 2023, Unit 5, Q17(a) (2 marks): On the ITER website it states: “Fusion is the energy source of the Sun and stars. In the core of these stellar bodies, hydrogen nuclei fuse into helium nuclei a
- June 2023, Unit 5, Q17(b) (4 marks): It is hoped that the ITER will be the first fusion device on Earth to maintain nuclear fusion for long periods of time. To achieve fusion in the ITER, a hot pla
- June 2023, Unit 5, Q17(c) (3 marks): The graph shows the variation of binding energy per nucleon with proton number Z. Binding energy per nucleon / MeV 8 4He 7 6 7Li 6Li 5 4 3 3H 3He 2 2H 1 1H 0 Z
- January 2023, Unit 5, Q3 (1 mark): The fusion of nuclei of 56Fe in a star does not release energy. Which of the following is a reason for this? A The magnitude of nuclear binding energy is the le
- January 2023, Unit 5, Q6 (1 mark): When a nucleus of americium emits an alpha particle the energy released is 5.64 MeV. Which of the following expressions gives the decrease in mass in kg of the
- October 2022, Unit 5, Q1 (1 mark): Fission and fusion are both nuclear processes. Which of the following statements is correct for both processes? A No harmful radiation is produced. B Nuclear bi
- October 2022, Unit 5, Q18(a)(ii) (4 marks): Calculate the energy released, in joules, in this nuclear reaction. Particle Mass / GeV / c2 1X 0.9396 4α 3.7274 27Al 25.1333 30P 27.9206 (4) Energy released =
- October 2022, Unit 5, Q20(a) (1 mark): State what is meant by fission. (1)
- June 2022, Unit 5, Q5 (1 mark): Which row of the table gives the conditions required in the core of a star for fusion to be sustained? Density Temperature A moderate moderate B moderate very h
- June 2022, Unit 5, Q15(a)(i) (3 marks): Show that the energy released in the decay is about 9 × 10–13 J. (3)
- June 2022, Unit 5, Q15(a)(ii) (2 marks): 98% of the energy from the decay is released as kinetic energy of the alpha particle. Calculate the velocity of the alpha particle immediately after the decay.
- June 2022, Unit 5, Q15(b) (2 marks): Explain why not all of the energy from the decay is released as kinetic energy of the alpha particle. (2)
- January 2022, Unit 5, Q10 (1 mark): The graph shows how the binding energy per nucleon depends upon nucleon number for a range of naturally occurring nuclides. Binding energy Fe per nucleon 56 Nuc
- January 2022, Unit 5, Q20(b) (4 marks): In a radioactive decay, energy is released and the total mass decreases. Show that the energy released if the mass decreases by 1 u is about 930 MeV. (4)
- January 2022, Unit 5, Q20(c) (4 marks): The francium nucleus and the alpha particle move away from each other after the decay. Explain why the kinetic energy given to the alpha particle is just less t
- October 2021, Unit 5, Q7 (1 mark): The graph shows how the binding energy (B.E.) per nucleon varies with nucleon number A for low mass nuclei. 8.0 O‑16 N‑14 He‑4 7.0 Be‑9 6.0 Li‑6 5.0 B.E. per nu
- October 2021, Unit 5, Q13(a) (4 marks): Show that the energy released in the decay is about 5.5 MeV. (4)
- October 2021, Unit 5, Q13(b) (4 marks): A textbook states that the kinetic energy gained by the alpha particle when a nucleus of thorium‑228 decays is equal to 5.4 MeV. Comment on this statement. Your
- October 2021, Unit 5, Q15 (6 marks): *15 Nuclear fusion in the core of a star is the source of the star’s power output. Explain the conditions required to bring about and maintain nuclear fusion in
- June 2021, Unit 5, Q4 (1 mark): In the Sun, nuclear fusion occurs mainly in the core. Which of the following is a reason for this? A Helium nuclei surround the core. B Most of the Sun’s hydrog
- June 2021, Unit 5, Q18(a) (1 mark): State what is meant by nuclear fission. (1)
- June 2021, Unit 5, Q18(b)(i) (2 marks): Sketch a graph to show how the binding energy per nucleon varies with nucleon number, for a wide range of isotopes. (2) Binding energy per nucleon Nucleon numbe
- June 2021, Unit 5, Q18(b)(ii) (1 mark): Mark the position of iron-56 on your graph. (1)
- June 2021, Unit 5, Q18(c) (2 marks): Complete the nuclear equation below. 236 141 92U → 38Sr + Xe + 2 × n (2)
- June 2021, Unit 5, Q18(d) (2 marks): Calculate, in MeV, the binding energy per nucleon for a nucleus of 236 92U. Mass / GeV/c2 92U 219.8750 236 n 0.93956 p 0.93827 (2) Binding energy per nucleon =
- June 2021, Unit 5, Q19(a) (5 marks): Pu-238 decays by alpha emission. Show that the energy released when a nucleus of Pu-238 decays into a nucleus of uranium is about 5.6 MeV. Mass / u Plutonium nu
- January 2021, Unit 5, Q19(a)(ii) (5 marks): Calculate the energy, in MeV, released when a nucleus of potassium-40 decays into a nucleus of calcium. Mass / u Potassium nucleus 39.963998 Calcium nucleus 39.
- October 2020, Unit 5, Q2 (1 mark): The graph shows how the binding energy per nucleon varies with nucleon number. binding energy 10 per nucleon / MeV 8 6 4 2 0 0 50 100 150 200 250 nucleon number
- October 2020, Unit 5, Q13 (4 marks): Scientists have been working to achieve a practical nuclear fusion reactor for more than 70 years. So far, this has been with only limited success. Explain the
- October 2020, Unit 5, Q14(b) (2 marks): The energy radiated from the Sun results in a decrease in the mass of the Sun. Calculate the decrease in the mass of the Sun due to this radiation over a period
- October 2020, Unit 5, Q18(a) (1 mark): Complete the equation for the reaction (1) 48Ca + 98 249Cf → 118 294Og + × n 20
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