Question

If $M_{0}$ is the mass of an oxygen isotope ${ }_{8} O^{17}, M_{P}$ and $M_{n}$ are the masses of a proton and a neutron, respectively, the nuclear binding energy of the isotope is

• A. $\left(M_{0}-8 M_{P}\right) c^{2}$
• B. $\left(M_{0}-8 M_{P}-9 M_{n}\right) c^{2}$
• C. $M_{0} c^{2}$
• D. $\left(M_{0}-17 M_{n}\right) c^{2}$

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

Binding energy $B E=\left(M_{\text {nucleus }}-M_{\text {nucleons }}\right) C^{2}$
$=\left(M_{0}-8 M_{P}-9 M_{n}\right) C^{2}$