Read the given passages and answer the following question.\ It is found that mass of the nucleus is

Question

Read the given passages and answer the following question.\ It is found that mass of the nucleus is less than the total mass of protons and neutrons, this mass difference is called mass defect. Nuclear binding energy is the energy equivalence to the mass defect. Thus, mass defect is in the form of energy and is responsible for binding the nucleons together. Binding energy per nucleon is an another quantity which is very useful in predicting the stability of a nucleus. \ If the binding energies of a deuteron and an alpha particle are 1.125 MeV and 7.2 MeV respectively, then the more stable of the two is

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(b) : BE per nucleon of deuteron \ $ =\frac{1.125}{2}=0.5625 \mathrm{MeV} \ $ BE per nucleon of alpha particle $=\frac{7.2}{4}=1.8 \mathrm{MeV}$ \ BE  per nucleon of alpha particle is more. Therefore, it is more stable.