Two nuclei are given below with their measured nuclear masses

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

Problem

Two nuclei are given below with their measured nuclear masses. • 37Li^{7}_{3}\text{Li} : 7.01600 u7.01600\,\text{u} • 24He^{4}_{2}\text{He} : 4.00260 u4.00260\,\text{u} Rest masses: proton =1.00728 u=1.00728\,\text{u}, neutron =1.00866 u=1.00866\,\text{u}. Assume 1 u=931.5 MeV/c21\,\text{u}=931.5\,\text{MeV}/c^{2}. (a) For each nucleus, calculate the mass defect. (b) Find the binding energy for each nucleus in MeV. (c) Compute the binding energy per nucleon for each nucleus. (d) Based on your results, state which of the two nuclei is more stable and justify your answer quantitatively.

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