The decreasing order of the magnitude of energy changes is ____________
A. phase, chemical, nuclear B. chemical, nuclear, phase C. nuclear, phase, chemical D. nuclear, chemical, phase
Correct Answer: D
Explanation
Nuclear reactions are accompanied by absorption or release of tremendous amounts of energy, followed by chemical reactions that absorb/release relatively small amount of energy, and lastly phase changes with negligible energy change. The decreasing order of the energy change is thus: Nuclear reaction \(>\) Chemical reaction \(>\) Phase reaction