Chapter 42: Q14P (page 1303)
What is the binding energy per nucleon of the americium isotope ? Here are some atomic masses and the neutron mass.
Short Answer
The binding energy per nucleon of the americium isotope is 7.52 MeV.
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Chapter 42: Q14P (page 1303)
What is the binding energy per nucleon of the americium isotope ? Here are some atomic masses and the neutron mass.
The binding energy per nucleon of the americium isotope is 7.52 MeV.
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The plutonium isotope is produced as a by-product in nuclear reactors and hence is accumulating in our environment. It is radioactive, decaying with a half-life of . (a) How many nuclei of Pu constitute a chemically lethal dose of? (b) What is the decay rate of this amount?
The half-life of a radioactive isotope is 140d. How many days would it take for the decay rate of a sample of this isotope to fall to one-fourth of its initial value?
Suppose the alpha particle in a Rutherford scattering experiment is replaced with a proton of the same initial kinetic energy and also headed directly toward the nucleus of the gold atom. (a) Will the distance from the center of the nucleus at which the proton stops be greater than, less than, or the same as that of the alpha particle? (b) If, instead, we switch the target to a nucleus with a larger value of Z,is the stopping distance of the alpha particle greater than, less than or the same as with the gold target?
(a) Show that the total binding energy of a given nuclide is, where, is the mass excess of ,is the mass excess of a neutron, and is the mass excess of the given nuclide. (b) Using this method, calculate the binding energy per nucleon for . Compare your result with the value listed in Table 42-1. The needed mass excesses, rounded to three significant figures, are , , and. Note the economy of calculation that results when mass excesses are used in place of the actual masses.
Figure 42-19 shows the decay of parents in a radioactive sample. The axes are scaled by and . What is the activity of the sample at?

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