The nuclear mass of the iron-56 nucleus (2656Fe) is 55.934939u (this value does not include the masses of the 26 orbital electrons). The nucleus contains 26 protons and 30 neutrons.
(i) Calculate the mass defect of the iron-56 nucleus in atomic mass units using mp=1.007276u and mn=1.008665u.
(ii) Determine the total binding energy and the binding energy per nucleon for iron-56. Take 1u=931.5MeV/c2.
(iii) Comment briefly on the value obtained in part (ii) with reference to nuclear stability.