IB Physics HL E 3 2 Binding Energy and Mass Defect Questions

Use HL mass defect and binding energy to explain nuclear stability and calculate the energy equivalent of missing nuclear mass.

Exam points

Analyse binding energy, mass defect and mass–energy equivalence.
Calculate binding energy per nucleon and Q-values for nuclear reactions.
Explain stability and energy release in fission, fusion and decay using binding energy.

[Maximum number: 3]

The binding energy of the stable nuclide ${ }_{54}^{131} \mathrm{Xe}$ is 1.105 GeV .

(a)

Outline what is meant by binding energy.

[ 1 ]

(b)

Calculate, in $\mathrm{GeV} \mathrm{c}^{-2}$ , the mass of a nucleus of ${ }_{54}^{131} \mathrm{Xe}$ .

[ 2 ]

Use of Binding energy = mass of separate nucleons - mass of nucleus
$\begin{aligned} \text { « } 1105=54 \times 938+77 \times 940-M c^{2} \text { » } M=122 \text { « } \mathrm{GeVc}^{-2} \text { » } \end{aligned}$

Do not allow BCA.

Award ECF from using binding energy with incorrect sign.

An answer that doesn't include binding energy scores [0].

All question bank results loaded

IB Physics HL E 3 2 Binding Energy and Mass Defect Questions question 1

Question (a)

Question (b)