Einstein's Equation for Nuclear Binding Energy relates mass and energy as which equation?

Einstein's Equation for Nuclear Binding Energy relates mass and energy as which equation?

• A. E = mv^2
• B. F = ma
• C. E = hv
• D. E = mc^2

Answer: (D)

Mass and energy are interchangeable; in nuclear processes the mass of a bound nucleus is slightly less than the sum of its individual protons and neutrons. That missing mass, the mass defect, when multiplied by c^2 gives the binding energy that holds the nucleus together. This is what Einstein’s equation expresses: the energy equivalent of mass is E = mc^2, with m representing the mass that is converted to energy (the mass defect in this context) and c the speed of light. So the binding energy can be written as BE = Δm c^2. The other formulas describe different ideas: E = mv^2 is kinetic energy of a moving object, F = ma is Newton’s second law relating force, and E = hv relates a photon's energy to its frequency. None of those capture how mass relates to energy in nuclear binding, which is precisely what E = mc^2 does.

Mass and energy are interchangeable; in nuclear processes the mass of a bound nucleus is slightly less than the sum of its individual protons and neutrons. That missing mass, the mass defect, when multiplied by c^2 gives the binding energy that holds the nucleus together. This is what Einstein’s equation expresses: the energy equivalent of mass is E = mc^2, with m representing the mass that is converted to energy (the mass defect in this context) and c the speed of light. So the binding energy can be written as BE = Δm c^2.

The other formulas describe different ideas: E = mv^2 is kinetic energy of a moving object, F = ma is Newton’s second law relating force, and E = hv relates a photon's energy to its frequency. None of those capture how mass relates to energy in nuclear binding, which is precisely what E = mc^2 does.