Question

the respective masses in amu of the proton, the neutron, and the nickel-60 are 1.00728,1.00867 and 59.9308. what is the mass defect of the nickel-60 nuclide in amu?

Answer 1

nickel - 60 contain 28 proton and 32 neutron thus,

theoretical mass of nickel m' = ( 28 m_p ) + (32 m_n)

= ( 28 1.00728) + (32 1.00867)

= (28.20384) +(32.27744)

= 60.48128 amu

mass defect ( m) = m' - m = 60.48128 - 59.9308 = 0.55048 amu

mass defect of the nickel-60 nuclide is = 0.55048 amu