Can someone let me know if this is correct please!
During fission and fusion processes, mass is converted into energy and this energy is released. The released energy is the binding energy, which is equal to the strong nuclear force energy. Since mass is converted into energy, the mass of the reactants > mass of the products.
For e.g. a neutron is absorbed by Uranium-235. Fission occurs and 2-3 neutrons + an isotope of Uranium is produced as a result.
The mass of the reactants (neutron + Uranium-235) = mass of the products (2-3 neutrons and an isotope of Uranium) + Energy
where the mass of the reactants > mass of the products
So far this makes sense...
But Q 1(a)(ii) in the June 2013 paper says "State and explain how the mass of a He-4 nucleus is different from the total mass of itsprotons and neutrons when separated."
My answer was that the mass of the He-4 nucleus is greater than the mass of the separated protons and neutrons.
But the correct answer according to the mark scheme is:
-separated nucleons have a greater mass (than when inside anucleus)
-because of the (binding) energy added to separate the nucleonsor energy is released when a nucleus is formed (owtte)
Help! This is contradicting my understanding and I am panicking! My tutor insists that what I said at the beginning of this post is correct, but the AQA textbook + several online sources agrees with the mark scheme.
Thanks