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Question bank›Edexcel International A Level Physics›5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units

Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units: Edexcel International A Level Physics questions

Edexcel International A Level Physics past-paper questions on 5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units, 2019–2025, with mark schemes and examiner’s reports where available.

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AS Unit 1 · Mechanics and MaterialsAS Unit 2 · Waves and ElectricityAS Unit 3 · Practical Skills in Physics IUnit 4 · Further Mechanics, Fields and ParticlesUnit 5 · Thermodynamics, Radiation, Oscillations and CosmologyUnit 6 · Practical Skills in Physics II

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Q20(b)(i)
June 2025 · Unit 5
4 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q4
January 2025 · Unit 5
1 mark5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units 5.4.1.2 Nuclear fission and fusion
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Q21(b)
January 2025 · Unit 5
4 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q21(a)(ii)
October 2024 · Unit 5
5 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q21(a)(iii)
October 2024 · Unit 5
2 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q19(a)(i)
June 2024 · Unit 5
4 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q19(a)(ii)
June 2024 · Unit 5
5 marks5.4.1.2 Nuclear fission and fusion 5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q3
January 2024 · Unit 5
1 mark5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q19(b)
January 2024 · Unit 5
3 marks5.4.1.2 Nuclear fission and fusion 5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q21(b)(i)
January 2024 · Unit 5
4 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q3
October 2023 · Unit 5
1 mark5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q13(a)
October 2023 · Unit 5
4 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q13(b)
October 2023 · Unit 5
2 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units 4.5.1.3 Particle interactions, tracks and high energies
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Q16(a)
June 2023 · Unit 5
4 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q17(c)
June 2023 · Unit 5
3 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units 5.4.1.2 Nuclear fission and fusion
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Q6
January 2023 · Unit 5
1 mark5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q18(a)(ii)
October 2022 · Unit 5
4 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q15(a)(i)
June 2022 · Unit 5
3 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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Q15(b)
June 2022 · Unit 5
2 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units 1.3.4.1 Momentum and its conservation
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Q20(b)
January 2022 · Unit 5
4 marks5.4.1.1 Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units
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All 31 questions on Binding energy, mass deficit and atomic mass units, as a list

June 2025, Unit 5, Q20(b)(i) (4 marks): Show that the energy released in the decay of one nucleus of plutonium‑238 is about 5.7 MeV. mass of plutonium nucleus = 3.9516 × 10 –25 kg mass of uranium nucl
January 2025, Unit 5, Q4 (1 mark): The graph shows how the binding energy (B.E.) per nucleon varies with the number of nucleons. The positions of three isotopes, P, Q and R, are marked on the cur
January 2025, Unit 5, Q21(b) (4 marks): The most stable isotope of promethium is Pm‑145. Calculate the binding energy per nucleon for nucleons in a nucleus of Pm‑145. Give your answer in MeV. mass of
October 2024, Unit 5, Q21(a)(ii) (5 marks): The mass of a nucleus of uranium‑241 is 241.06033 u. Show that the binding energy of a nucleus of uranium-241 is about 3 × 10 –10 J. mass of neutron = 1.68 × 10
October 2024, Unit 5, Q21(a)(iii) (2 marks): Calculate the binding energy per nucleon of uranium‑241 in MeV. (2) Binding energy per nucleon = MeV
June 2024, Unit 5, Q19(a)(i) (4 marks): Show that when 4 protons form a helium nucleus the energy released is about –12 J. 4.3 × 10 (4)
June 2024, Unit 5, Q19(a)(ii) (5 marks): A scientist claimed that it would take 9 × 10 hydrogen in the Sun to be fused into helium. Assess the accuracy of this claim. You should consider the rate of pr
January 2024, Unit 5, Q3 (1 mark): The mass of a muon is 0.113 u. Which of the following is equal to the equivalent mass‑energy, in joules, of the muon? A 0.113 × (3.0 × 10 8 ) 2 0 113 . B × 108
January 2024, Unit 5, Q19(b) (3 marks): A nucleus of Estimate the energy, in MeV, released in the fission. You should use values from the graph. (3) Energy released = MeV
January 2024, Unit 5, Q21(b)(i) (4 marks): Calculate the binding energy per nucleon, in J, of a helium nucleus. mass of proton = 938.28 MeV / c 2 mass of neutron = 939.57 MeV / c 2 mass of helium nucleus
October 2023, Unit 5, Q3 (1 mark): Which of the following statements about nuclear binding energy (B.E.) is correct? A B.E. per nucleon increases steadily as proton number increases. B B.E. per n
October 2023, Unit 5, Q13(a) (4 marks): Calculate the minimum energy, in MeV, required for the reaction to take place. (4) Nuclide Mass / 10 –27 kg 17O 28.2185 14N 23.2451 4He 6.64432 1H 1.67299 Minim
October 2023, Unit 5, Q13(b) (2 marks): Explain why the alpha particle must have an energy greater than the minimum energy for the reaction to take place. (2)
June 2023, Unit 5, Q16(a) (4 marks): Determine the energy, in J, released when a nucleus of thorium-230 emits an alpha particle. (4) Energy released = J
June 2023, Unit 5, Q17(c) (3 marks): The graph shows the variation of binding energy per nucleon with proton number Z. Binding energy per nucleon / MeV 8 4He 7 6 7Li 6Li 5 4 3 3H 3He 2 2H 1 1H 0 Z
January 2023, Unit 5, Q6 (1 mark): When a nucleus of americium emits an alpha particle the energy released is 5.64 MeV. Which of the following expressions gives the decrease in mass in kg of the
October 2022, Unit 5, Q18(a)(ii) (4 marks): Calculate the energy released, in joules, in this nuclear reaction. Particle Mass / GeV / c2 1X 0.9396 4α 3.7274 27Al 25.1333 30P 27.9206 (4) Energy released =
June 2022, Unit 5, Q15(a)(i) (3 marks): Show that the energy released in the decay is about 9 × 10–13 J. (3)
June 2022, Unit 5, Q15(b) (2 marks): Explain why not all of the energy from the decay is released as kinetic energy of the alpha particle. (2)
January 2022, Unit 5, Q20(b) (4 marks): In a radioactive decay, energy is released and the total mass decreases. Show that the energy released if the mass decreases by 1 u is about 930 MeV. (4)
January 2022, Unit 5, Q20(c) (4 marks): The francium nucleus and the alpha particle move away from each other after the decay. Explain why the kinetic energy given to the alpha particle is just less t
October 2021, Unit 5, Q7 (1 mark): The graph shows how the binding energy (B.E.) per nucleon varies with nucleon number A for low mass nuclei. 8.0 O‑16 N‑14 He‑4 7.0 Be‑9 6.0 Li‑6 5.0 B.E. per nu
October 2021, Unit 5, Q13(a) (4 marks): Show that the energy released in the decay is about 5.5 MeV. (4)
October 2021, Unit 5, Q13(b) (4 marks): A textbook states that the kinetic energy gained by the alpha particle when a nucleus of thorium‑228 decays is equal to 5.4 MeV. Comment on this statement. Your
June 2021, Unit 5, Q18(b)(i) (2 marks): Sketch a graph to show how the binding energy per nucleon varies with nucleon number, for a wide range of isotopes. (2) Binding energy per nucleon Nucleon numbe
June 2021, Unit 5, Q18(b)(ii) (1 mark): Mark the position of iron-56 on your graph. (1)
June 2021, Unit 5, Q18(d) (2 marks): Calculate, in MeV, the binding energy per nucleon for a nucleus of 236 92U. Mass / GeV/c2 92U 219.8750 236 n 0.93956 p 0.93827 (2) Binding energy per nucleon =
June 2021, Unit 5, Q19(a) (5 marks): Pu-238 decays by alpha emission. Show that the energy released when a nucleus of Pu-238 decays into a nucleus of uranium is about 5.6 MeV. Mass / u Plutonium nu
January 2021, Unit 5, Q19(a)(ii) (5 marks): Calculate the energy, in MeV, released when a nucleus of potassium-40 decays into a nucleus of calcium. Mass / u Potassium nucleus 39.963998 Calcium nucleus 39.
October 2020, Unit 5, Q2 (1 mark): The graph shows how the binding energy per nucleon varies with nucleon number. binding energy 10 per nucleon / MeV 8 6 4 2 0 0 50 100 150 200 250 nucleon number
October 2020, Unit 5, Q14(b) (2 marks): The energy radiated from the Sun results in a decrease in the mass of the Sun. Calculate the decrease in the mass of the Sun due to this radiation over a period

Nearby topics:5.4.1.2 Nuclear fission and fusion The whole bank

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