Physics

Problem

Two nuclei are given below with their measured nuclear masses. •

^{7}_{3}\text{Li}

7.01600\,\text{u}

•

^{4}_{2}\text{He}

4.00260\,\text{u}

Rest masses: proton

=1.00728\,\text{u}

, neutron

=1.00866\,\text{u}

. Assume

1\,\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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