Question

Assertion (A) : If a heavy nucleus is split into two medium sized parts,each of the new nuclei will have more binding energy per nucleon than the original nucleus.

Reason (R): Joining two light nuclei together to give a single nucleus of medium size means more binding energy per nucleon in the new nucleus.

• A. Both A and R are true and R is correct explanation of A
• B. Both A and R are true and R is not correct explanation of A
• C. A is true but R is false
• D. A is false but R is true

Answer 1

The correct option is B Both A and R are true and R is not correct explanation of A

If a heavy nucleus splits, it forms smaller medium size particles, which are more stable as compared to parent nuclei thus having higher Binding energy. And this is the principle for nuclear fission and in case of nuclear fusion the two light nuclei join to form a more stable medium sized nuclei to get the optimum n/p ratio as close and near to Fe which has most stable nuclei in terms of n/p ratio.