Which of the Following Statements Regarding the Mass Defect and Nuclear

Which of the following statements regarding the mass defect and nuclear binding energy is false?

A) The mass of the nucleus is slightly less than the combined mass of its separate constituent nucleons.
B) Separated protons and neutrons are more stable than when they are in the nucleus.
C) Mass is converted to energy when separated nucleons combine to form a nucleus.
D) The binding energy reflects the amount of energy that would be required to break up the nucleus.
E) E = mc² allows binding energies to be calculated.