Question

under conditions like those on the sun, hydrogen can fuse with helium to form lithium, which in turn can form different isotopes of helium and hydrogen. the mass of one mole of each isotope is given. In grams, what is the mass difference between the reactants and the products?

Answer 1

The nuclear fusion reactions on the Sun involve the conversion of hydrogen into helium. The basic process is the fusion of four hydrogen nuclei (protons) to form one helium nucleus. The mass of four hydrogen nuclei is slightly larger than the mass of one helium nucleus. This difference in mass is known as the mass defect.

The mass defect is converted into energy according to Einstein's mass-energy equivalence principle (E=mc^2), where \(E\) is energy, \(m\) is mass, and \(c\) is the speed of light.

To calculate the mass difference, you need the atomic masses involved. Here's a simplified version:

1. The mass of four protons (hydrogen nuclei) is approximately \(4.028\) g/mol.

2. The mass of one helium nucleus is approximately \(4.0026\) g/mol.

The mass defect is \(4.028 \, \text{g/mol} - 4.0026 \, \text{g/mol}\). This difference in mass is converted into energy during the fusion process.

If you need a numerical value for the mass difference, you can subtract these values to find it.