In my homework example, it says that there are 234 nucleons (140+94) bound in the products of this reaction:
n-1 + U-235 ---> Ba-141 + Kr-92 + 3n-1
Where are they getting that number??? I though you added up the protons and neutrons to find how many nucleons there are, but I can't get 234???
To determine the total number of nucleons in a given reaction, you need to add up the protons and neutrons in all the reactants and products. However, it seems that the equation you provided contains a mistake. Let's correct it first:
n-1 + U-235 -> Ba-141 + Kr-92 + 3n-1
Now let's calculate the total number of nucleons. Starting from the left side of the equation, we have:
1 proton from the neutron (n-1)
235 protons from the uranium-235 (U-235)
235 neutrons from the uranium-235 (U-235)
Summing up the protons and neutrons on the left side:
1 proton + 235 protons + 235 neutrons = 471 nucleons
Now, on the right side of the equation:
141 protons from the barium-141 (Ba-141)
92 protons from the krypton-92 (Kr-92)
3 neutrons from the three neutrons (3n-1)
Summing up the protons and neutrons on the right side:
141 protons + 92 protons + 3 neutrons = 236 nucleons
Therefore, the total number of nucleons in this reaction is 471 nucleons (on the left side) and 236 nucleons (on the right side).
It's worth noting that the equation you provided is not balanced, meaning the number of protons and neutrons on both sides of the equation should be equal.