Question

The isotope cobalt-60 has a nuclear mass of 59.933820 u

Answer 1

To start this question, we should know what is the atomic number of cobalt. The atomic number (the number of protons) of Cobalt is Z =27.

Now, we know that a Cobalt 60 isotope means an isotope of Cobalt whose Atomic Mass is 60

Thus, in a Cobalt 60 isotope, the number of neutrons in the nucleus are $60-Z=60-27=33$.

From the question we know that the given nuclear mass is 59.933820 u.

Now, the mass defect of Cobalt 60 can be easily calculated by adding the masses of the protons and the neutrons as per our calculations and subtracting the given nuclear mass from it.

Thus,

Mass Defect = (Number of Protons $\times$ Mass of Proton given in the question) + (Number of Neutrons $\times$ Mass of Neutron given in the question)-59.933820 u

$\therefore$ Mass Defect = $27\times 1.007825 u + 33 \times 1.008665 u -59.933820 u =27.211275u+33.285945u-59.933820u=0.5634u$

Thus, the required Mass Defect is $0.5634 u$

In eV, the Mass Defect is $931.5 MeV\times 0.5634=534.8071 MeV$