The atomic masses (in unified atomic mass units

PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Nuclei · Nuclei

Problem

The atomic masses (in unified atomic mass units, u) of some nuclei are given below.

^{4}\mathrm{He}: 4.002603\,\text{u}

^{12}\mathrm{C}: 12.000000\,\text{u}

^{56}\mathrm{Fe}: 55.934939\,\text{u}

Mass of proton

m_{p}=1.007276\,\text{u}

, mass of neutron

m_{n}=1.008665\,\text{u}

. (You may use

1\,\text{u}=931\,\text{MeV}/c^{2}

.) (i) For each of the three nuclei, calculate the total binding energy. (ii) From your results, determine the average binding energy per nucleon for each nucleus. (iii) Rank the three nuclei in order of increasing stability and justify your answer on the basis of the values obtained in part (ii).

Related theory

Nuclear Structure
Nuclear Binding Energy
Mass defect and binding energy
Nuclear physics
Mass energy equivalence
Nuclei

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