Question

Which statement describes why energy is released in a nuclear fusion reaction based on mass-energy equivalence? For large nuclei, the mass of the original nucleus is greater than the mass of the products. For large nuclei, the mass of the original nucleus is less than the mass of the products. For small nuclei, the binding energy of the lighter nuclei is greater than the binding energy of the heavier nucleus. For small nuclei, the binding energy of the lighter nuclei is less than the binding energy of the heavier nucleus.

Answer 1

Answer: For small nuclei, the binding energy of the lighter nuclei is greater than the binding energy of the heavier nucleus.

Explanation: Nuclear fusion is a process which involves the conversion of two small nuclei to form a heavy nuclei along with release of energy.

Binding energy is the minimum energy required to separate nucleus into its constituent nucleons. Higher is the binding energy, higher is the stability and thus lesser is the energy.

$_1^1\textrm{H}+_1^1\textrm{H}\rightarrow 1^2\textrm{H}+_{+1}^0\textrm{e}+\text{energy}$

In nuclear fusion, the total binding energy of the lighter nuclei is greater than the binding energy of the heavier nucleus. Thus extra energy is released during the reaction.

Answer 2

Answer: Option (c) is the correct answer.

Explanation:

When two or more small nuclei combine together to form a larger nuclei then this process is known as nuclear reaction.

The smaller is an atom, the more energy it requires to release an electron. This energy is known as binding energy.

Thus, when two small nuclei fuse together then there will be more binding energy as compared to when two large nuclei fuse together.

For example, fusion of two hydrogen atoms release more energy then one helium atom, and upon binding excess energy is released into the space.

Hence, we can conclude that energy is released in a nuclear fusion reaction based on mass-energy equivalence because for small nuclei, the binding energy of the lighter nuclei is greater than the binding energy of the heavier nucleus.