Determine the Q -value for the fusion reaction: ²₁ H + ²₁ H ³₁ H + ¹₁ H Atomic masses are given as m(²₁ H ) = 2.014102 u , m(³₁ H ) = 3.016049 u , m(³₂ He ) = 3.016029 u , and m(⁴₂ He ) = 4.002603 u .

Step-by-step solution

The given fusion reaction is: ²₁ H + ²₁ H ³₁ H + ¹₁ H To find the Q -value of the reaction, we first calculate the mass defect ( m ). The standard atomic mass of hydrogen ( ¹₁ H ) is approximately 1.007825 u . The total mass of the reactants is: m_ reactants = 2 m(²₁ H ) = 2 2.014102 u = 4.028204 u The total mass of the products is: m_ products = m(³₁ H ) + m(¹₁ H ) = 3.016049 u + 1.007825 u = 4.023874 u The mass defect m is: m = m_ reactants - m_ products m = 4.028204 u - 4.023874 u = 0.004330 u The Q -value is ca