College Physics with MasteringPhysics 7th Edition by Jerry Wilson,Anthony Buffa,Bo Lou

Exercise 15

In nuclear reactors, subatomic particles called neutrons are slowed down by allowing them to collide with the atoms of a moderator material, such as carbon atoms, which are 12 times as massive as neutrons. (a) In a head-on elastic collision with a carbon atom, what percentage of a neutron's energy is lost (b) If the neutron has an initial speed of 1.5 × 10 7 m/s, what will be its speed after collision