Exoergic Nuclear Reaction: Calculating Mass-to-Energy Conversion Percentage

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AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the percentage of mass converted into energy in the exoergic nuclear reaction involving deuterium and tritium. The user calculated the initial and final masses, arriving at a value of 99.6% for the mass not converted into energy. It was clarified that this percentage actually represents the mass remaining, not the mass converted. The correct calculation for the mass converted would require subtracting this percentage from 100%. The conversation emphasizes the importance of accurate mass calculations in determining energy conversion percentages.
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Homework Statement



In the following exoergic nuclear reaction,

12D + 13T &rarr 01n + 24He

what percentage of the initial mass is converted into energy?



Homework Equations



(mA +ma)- (mB-mB) =delta m

delta m * u(MeV) = E



The Attempt at a Solution



I'm not sure how to do sub and super scripts but 12D would be deuterium. Anyway I calculted the masses and got (mA+ma)5.03u for the first and (mB+Mb)5.011 for the second. To get the % of the mass converted to energy I divided mb+mB/mA+mA and got 99.6%. A I doing it correctly...(even if I calculated the masses incorrectly)
 
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The number you got, 99.6% (assuming the masses and the arithmetic are right), is the percentage of the original mass *not* converted to energy.
 

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