Final answer:
The mass defect is the difference in mass between the sum of the constituent nucleons and the actual mass of the nucleus. Once established, the nuclear binding energy can be calculated using the mass-energy equivalence principle.
Step-by-step explanation:
The mass defect of a nucleus is the difference between the mass of the unbound nucleons (protons and neutrons) and the mass of the nucleus itself. In this calculation, the mass of the cobalt-60 nucleus is given as 59.919007 amu. To find the mass defect, we would compare this to the combined masses of all the protons and neutrons that make up the cobalt nucleus (which are 27 protons and 33 neutrons for cobalt-60).
Steps to Determine the Mass Defect
- Determine the total mass of the 27 protons and 33 neutrons based on standard mass values.
- Subtract the mass of the nucleus (59.919007 amu) from the sum of these masses to find the mass defect.
Once the mass defect in amu is known, the nuclear binding energy can be calculated using the equation E=mc^2, where m is the mass defect and c is the speed of light. Since 1 amu can be converted to energy using the conversion factor 931 MeV/amu, the mass defect in amu can also directly give us the binding energy in MeV.