Two Books, One Peak, and a Halving

You'll learnthat nucleon numbers balance while masses do not, that the missing mass is the energy released, that stability is binding energy per nucleon rather than total, and that decay halves a proportion rather than subtracting an amount.

A nuclear equation has two sets of books: count nucleons and both sides match, weigh the two sides and they do not — and the gap is the energy released. Eleven short steps; press Next for each one.

11 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · NUCLEONS BALANCE, MASS DOES NOT · PER NUCLEON, NOT TOTAL · v2

nucleons balance and mass does not · per nucleon, not total · halve, never subtract

Before you start

What you're looking at

A nuclear reaction with its balance rows written out beneath it, then the binding energy curve, then a sample of nuclei halving.

The question

Where does the released energy come from, which nuclei are the stable ones, and how much of a sample is left after a given time?

Step 1 / 11