So I was doing a TPR passage (MCAT ELITE), and it asks the question
Which of the following statements is true about U-235?
The answer it says is that it has a relatively LOW binding energy per nucleon and experiences stronger nuclear repulsive forces than nuclear attractive forces.
U-235 is unstable and can undergo alpha decay according to the passage, so I understand that the nuclear repulsive forces should be greater than the nuclear attractive forces.
I just want to be clear on this next part, bind NRG per nucleon = Energy required to break apart the nucleus, so because it is so unstable, it doesn't really need a lot of nrg to break apart the nucleus and thus compared to a stable isotope should have a LOW binding NRG per nucleon?
Which of the following statements is true about U-235?
The answer it says is that it has a relatively LOW binding energy per nucleon and experiences stronger nuclear repulsive forces than nuclear attractive forces.
U-235 is unstable and can undergo alpha decay according to the passage, so I understand that the nuclear repulsive forces should be greater than the nuclear attractive forces.
I just want to be clear on this next part, bind NRG per nucleon = Energy required to break apart the nucleus, so because it is so unstable, it doesn't really need a lot of nrg to break apart the nucleus and thus compared to a stable isotope should have a LOW binding NRG per nucleon?