Q 12-13-004NEETNEET 2021Top questionEasy
A nucleus with mass number $240$ breaks into two fragments each of mass number $120$, the binding energy per nucleon of unfragmented nuclei is $7.6$ MeV while that of fragments is $8.5$ MeV. The total gain in the Binding Energy in the process is :
Answer: (A) $216$ MeV
Concept. Total binding energy $=$ (number of nucleons) $\times$ (binding energy per nucleon); the gain is final minus initial.
Step 1. Initial. $240 \times 7.6 = 1824$ MeV.
Step 2. Final. $2 \times 120 \times 8.5 = 2040$ MeV.
Step 3. Gain. $2040 - 1824 = 216$ MeV.
Answer. $216$ MeV (Option A).
Solution by Sreeraj P, M.Sc Physics