Video Transcript
What is the name of the minimum
energy necessary to disassemble the protons and neutrons that make up the nucleus of
an atom? (A) Nuclear electrostatic energy,
(B) nuclear bonding energy, (C) nuclear fusion energy, (D) nuclear binding energy,
or (E) nuclear fission energy.
An atomic nucleus is made up of
positively charged protons and neutral neutrons. Atomic nuclei should be unstable
due to the intense electrostatic repulsion between the positively charged
protons. However, there is a very strong
force, appropriately known as the strong nuclear force, that exists between protons
and protons, neutrons and neutrons, and protons and neutrons that helps to bind the
nucleus together.
In order to disassemble the nucleus
into protons and neutrons, a minimum amount of energy must be supplied to overcome
the strong nuclear force. The amount of energy necessary to
separate the nucleus into unbound nucleons is called the nuclear binding energy.
So the name of the minimum energy
necessary to disassemble the protons and neutrons that make up the nucleus of an
atom is answer choice (D), nuclear binding energy.
