Question

denotes the mass of the proton and M_n denotes mass of a neutron. A given nucleus of binding energy B, contains Z protons and N neutrons. The mass M (N, Z) of the nucleus is given by(where c is the speed of light)

(a) M (N, Z) = NM_n + ZM_p – Bc² 

(b) M (N, Z) = NM_n + ZM_p + Bc² 

(c) M (N, Z) = NM_n + ZM_p – B / c² 

(d) M (N, Z) = NM_n + ZM_p + B / c²

Answer 1

(c) M (N, Z) = NM_n + ZM_p – B / c²

Binding energy, B = [ZM_p + NM_n – M (N, Z)] C² 

M(N,Z) = ZM_p + NM_n - \(\frac{B}{C^2}\)