The figure below shows stages in a nuclear fission reaction. The energies of these states are $E_{1}, E_{2}$ and $E_{3}$ respectively. Which option is correct?

$E_{1} > E_{2} > E_{3}$

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$E_{1} > E_{2} < E_{3}$

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$E_{1} < E_{2} > E_{3}$

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$E_{1} < E_{2} < E_{3}$

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Solution

The correct option is C
$E_{1} < E_{2} > E_{3}$

A nuclear fission doesn't require external energy supply. It's a spontaneous process in which the energy of the system must decrease. So the correct option is $E_{1} > E_{2} > E_{3}$ . Right? No. Wrong !!
What we said about the spontaneity of the fission process is totally correct, but the energy of the intermediate state is higher than that of the parent nucleus and then the energy decreases. Yes, shocking! If we didn't supply any energy for fission to happen, how did the energy of intermediate state increased in the first place?
The extra energy for intermediate comes from a fraction energy produced by fission of earlier nuclei. That is why, in order to initiate the reaction in beginning, high energy particles are bombarded on the nuclei to start the reaction from zero.

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