A nutron strikes an atom of uranium-235 to start a fission reaction. A student expresses this situation as 0/1n + 235/92U.Which statement describes why the expression is incorrect?
The mass number for uranium-235 is in the wrong location
A neutron should be expresses as 1/0n, hot 0/1n
A neutron should be expressed as 1/1H, not 0/1H
The atomic number for uranium-235 is in the wrong location
The correct statement is: The atomic number for uranium-235 is in the wrong location.
The correct statement is: The mass number for uranium-235 is in the wrong location.
The correct answer is: The atomic number for uranium-235 is in the wrong location.
In order to understand why the expression is incorrect, let's break down the notation used. The expression 0/1n + 235/92U is attempting to represent the collision between a neutron (n) and a uranium-235 (U-235) atom.
In nuclear notation, the numerator represents the atomic mass or mass number, and the denominator represents the atomic number or proton number. Therefore, the expression 0/1n represents a neutron with zero protons (atomic number) and one unit of mass (mass number).
However, the atomic number for uranium-235 is 92, not 1. So, the correct expression for a neutron should be 1/0n (one unit of mass and zero protons) and the correct expression for uranium-235 would be 235/92U (235 units of mass and 92 protons).
Hence, the statement "The atomic number for uranium-235 is in the wrong location" accurately describes why the expression 0/1n + 235/92U is incorrect.