What is the binding energy of ¹²C? The mass of an atom of ¹²C is 12 u (exactly), the mass of an atom of ¹H is 1.007825 u, and the mass of a neutron is 1.0086649 u.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The binding energy can be calculated using the mass defect, which is the difference between the mass of the unbound constituents (protons, neutrons, electrons) and the mass of the bound nucleus. The given symbol ¹²C seems to represent a carbon atom with a mass number of 12, indicating it has 6 protons and 6 neutrons (since carbon's atomic number is 6). The mass of 6 protons can be calculated using the mass of a hydrogen atom (since the mass of a proton is approximately equal to the mass of a hydrogen atom minus the mass of an electron, but the mass of an electron is very small compared to a proton or neutron and can be neglected for this calculation). Thus, the mass of 6 protons is 6 * 1.007825 u. The mass of 6 neutrons is 6 * 1.0086649 u. The total mass of the unbound constituents is the sum of the masses of the protons and neutrons. The mass defect is the difference between this sum and the given mass of the carbon atom (12 u). The binding energy is then calculated from the mass defect using Einstein's equation E=mc^2, where m is the mass defect and c is the speed of light. The mass defect must be converted from atomic mass units to kilograms, and the binding energy will be in joules, which can then be converted to MeV (1 u = 931.5 MeV/c^2). The correct calculation leads to a binding energy in the range of 92.2 MeV, indicating that option C is correct.

What Is the Binding Energy of 12C? the Mass of an Atom

What Is the Binding Energy of ¹²C? the Mass of an Atom