1. ELEMENTary Education Answer the following questions in your notebook:
1. Describe what happened within the first three minutes after the “Big Bang.”
2. What isotopes came together to form a helium atom?
3. From your interpretation of the drawings on page one of the comic book, what do you think nucleosynthesis is?
4. Describe what happens during fusion.
5. Examine the periodic table drawings in the comic book.
a. What elements are formed in the beginning, in cool stars?
b. What elements are formed in the middle, in hot stars?
c. What elements are formed in the end, in supernovas?
6. What happens when the outward forces of pressure wins out over gravity in an old star?
7. What happens when the inward forces of gravity wins out over pressure in an old star?
8. Describe the difference between nuclear reactions and chemical reactions.

2. Fission and Fusion
-The nucleus is held together by the strong nuclear force.
-The strong nuclear force acts between protons and neutrons, neutrons and neutrons, and protons and protons
-The nuclear force overcomes repulsion of the protons only when the protons and neutrons are near each other

3. Fission and Fusion
-Two major types of nuclear reactions are fusion and fission.
-In fusion reactions two nuclei come together and merge to form a heavier nucleus.
fusion is like “fuse”

4. fission is like “fissure”
Fission and Fusion
-In fission a heavy nucleus splits apart to form two (or more) lighter nuclei.
fission is like “fissure”

5. Fission and Fusion
large amounts of energy are released as protons and neutrons combine into different arrangements.
Fusion
Fission

6. Fission and Fusion
Fission

7. Fission vs. Fusion Compare and contrast fission and fusion. Fission