Assignment:
Question 1. Energy is required to separate a nucleus into its constituent nucleons. This energy is the total binding energy of the nucleus. In a similar way one can speak of the energy that binds a single nucleon to the remainder of the nucleus. For example, separating nitrogen ^14/7N into nigtogen ^13/7N and a neutron takes energy equal to the binding energy of the neutron, as shown below:
^14/7N + Energy --------> ^13/7N + ^1/0n
Find the energy (in MeV) that binds the neutron to the ^14/7N nucleus by considering the mass of the ^13/7N and the mass of ^1/0n, as compared to the mass of ^14/7N.
Question 2. Similarly, one can speak of the energy that binds a single proton to the ^14/7N nucleus:
^14/7N + Energy -------->^13/6C + ^1/1H
Following the procedure outlined in part (a), determine the energy (in MeV) that binds the proton to the ^14/7N nucleus.
Question 3. Which nucleon is more tightly bound, the neutron or the proton?