Which has the larger binding energy, fluorine- 19 or oxygen-17?

To find the mass defect, we need to know the masses of F-19, O-17, protons, and neutrons. The atomic masses of F-19 and O-17 are approximately 18.9984u and 16.9991u, respectively. The masses of a proton and a neutron are approximately 1.0073u and 1.0087u, respectively (u stands for atomic mass units). For F-19, there are 9 protons and 10 neutrons. The total mass is: Total mass of F-19 constituents = (9 × 1.0073u) + (10 × 1.0087u) = 19.1534u The mass defect of F-19 is: Mass defect of F-19 = Total mass of F-19 constituents - mass of F-19 = 19.1534u - 18.9984u = 0.155u For O-17, there are 8 protons and 9 neutrons. The total mass is: Total mass of O-17 constituents = (8 × 1.0073u) + (9 × 1.0087u) = 17.1308u The mass defect of O-17 is: Mass defect of O-17 = Total mass of O-17 constituents - mass of O-17 = 17.1308u - 16.9991u = 0.1317u

To convert the mass defect to energy, we use Einstein's equation: E = mc^2. In this case, we only need the energy conversion factor for atomic mass units (u): 1u = 931.5 MeV/c^2. For F-19, the binding energy is: Binding energy of F-19 = Mass defect of F-19 × energy conversion factor = 0.155u × 931.5 MeV/c^2 = 144.3825 MeV For O-17, the binding energy is: Binding energy of O-17 = Mass defect of O-17 × energy conversion factor = 0.1317u × 931.5 MeV/c^2 = 122.69055 MeV

Based on our calculations, the binding energies are as follows: - Binding energy of F-19: 144.3825 MeV - Binding energy of O-17: 122.69055 MeV Since the binding energy of F-19 is greater than the binding energy of O-17, fluorine-19 has a larger binding energy than oxygen-17.