Question

The heavier nuclei tend to have larger N/Z ratio because
(a) a neutron is heavier than a proton
(b) a neutron is an unstable particle
(c) a neutron does not exert electric repulsion
(d) Coulomb forces have longer range compared to the nuclear forces.

Answer 1

(c) a neutron does not exert electric repulsion
(d) Coulomb forces have longer range compared to the nuclear forces

This is because in heavy nuclei, the N/Z ratio becomes larger in order to maintain their stability and reduce instability caused due to the repulsion among the protons.The neutrons exert only attractive short-range nuclear forces on each other as well as on the neighbouring protons, whereas the protons exert attractive short-range nuclear forces on each other as well as the electrostatic repulsive force. Thus, the nuclei with high mass number, in order to be stable, have large neutron to proton ratio (N/Z).