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Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R.
Assertion A: The binding energy per nucleon is practically independent of the atomic number for nuclei of mass number in the range 30 to 170.
Reason R: Nuclear force is short ranged.
In the light of above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below.

Asked in JEE Main 13th April 2nd Shift 2023 · Binding energy curve and nuclear force

Answer: (4) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.

Step-by-step solution

Each nucleon binds only to its near neighbours because the force is short ranged (R true).

So adding nucleons adds a fixed binding per nucleon: B/A is nearly constant for 30<A<170 (A true, explained by R).

Why the other options are wrong

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