The total binding energy of the carbon nucleus is

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Nuclear physics · Nuclear physics

Problem

The total binding energy of the carbon nucleus

^{12}_{6}\!\text{C}

92.16\,\text{MeV}

. The masses of a free proton and a free neutron are

m_p = 1.00727\,\text{u}

and

m_n = 1.00866\,\text{u}

, respectively. (a) Calculate the mass defect of the

^{12}_{6}\!\text{C}

nucleus. (b) Hence determine the nuclear mass of

^{12}_{6}\!\text{C}

in atomic mass units.