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 : (1) 216 MeV (2) 0.9 MeV (3) 9.4 MeV (4) 804 MeV
The correct option is A 216 MeV Mass number of reactant =240 BE per nucleon =7.6 MeV Mass number of products =120 BE per nucleon of product =8.5 MeV Total gain in BE = (BE) of products - (BE) of reactants. =[120+120]×8.5−[240×7.6]] =(240)×8.5−240×7.6 =(240×0.9)=216 MeV
