Question

question 10
3 pts
the source of the suns energy is ____.
chemical burning
nuclear fission
nuclear fusion
photosynthesis

Explanation:

• Chemical burning: The sun is not burning in the chemical sense (like a campfire). Chemical reactions don't produce the vast amounts of energy the sun emits.
• Nuclear fission: Fission is the splitting of heavy nuclei (e.g., uranium splitting in a nuclear reactor). The sun's core has light - weight hydrogen, not heavy nuclei for fission.
• Nuclear fusion: In the sun's core, hydrogen nuclei fuse to form helium. This fusion releases a huge amount of energy (via \(E = mc^{2}\)) due to the mass difference between reactants (hydrogen) and products (helium).
• Photosynthesis: This is a process in plants (and some bacteria) that uses sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. It doesn't power the sun.

Answer:

nuclear fusion