(a) Define mass defect of a nucleus.
(a) Define mass defect of a nucleus.
(b) Define nuclear binding energy.
(c) Explain, without using any calculations, why the actual mass of a stable nucleus is always less than the total mass of its separated constituent nucleons.
(d) With the help of the above definitions, describe qualitatively how a large binding energy per nucleon is related to the stability of a nucleus.