Calculate the mass defect (in g/mol) for the formation of a helium-6 nucleus, and calculate the binding energy in (MeV)/nucleon. (1 amu = 1.66 × 10^-27 kg). (1 neutron = 1.00866 amu 1 proton = 1.00727 amu, & 1 electron = 0.00055 amu) (1 MeV = 1.60 × 10^-13 J). 

• A. 0.04267 g/mol, 2.122 MeV/nucleon
• B. 0.05318 g/mol, 7.050 MeV/nucleon
• C. 0.05219 g/mol, 8.017 MeV/nucleon
• D. 0.05138 g/mol, 7.996 MeV/nucleon

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the number of protons and neutrons in the helium-6 nucleus. Helium-6 has 2 protons and 4 neutrons (since 6 nucleons total).
2. Calculate the total mass of the individual nucleons before fusion by summing the masses of 2 protons and 4 neutrons: \(\text{mass}_{\text{nucleons}} = 2 \times 1.00727\,\text{amu} + 4 \times 1.00866\,\text{amu}\).
3. Find the actual mass of the helium-6 nucleus from the image, which is given as 6.01888 amu.
4. Calculate the mass defect \(\Delta m\) by subtracting the actual mass of the nucleus from the total mass of the separate nucleons: \(\Delta m = \text{mass}_{\text{nucleons}} - \text{mass}_{\text{nucleus}}\).
5. Convert the mass defect from amu to grams per mole by multiplying by the molar mass constant (1 amu = 1 g/mol). Then calculate the binding energy using \(E = \Delta m \times 931.5\,\text{MeV}\) (since 1 amu corresponds to 931.5 MeV). Finally, find the binding energy per nucleon by dividing the total binding energy by 6 (the number of nucleons).