Which of the following statements are correct?
(A) The electrostatic repulsive force between the protons can be greater than the nuclear force to bind the nucleons together inside a nucleus.
(B) The repulsive electrostatic force between protons in smaller nuclei is much smaller than the nuclear force between nucleons inside a nucleus.
(C) The gravitational force between nucleons is much smaller than the nuclear force between the nucleons inside a nucleus.
(D) The binding energy per nucleon between nucleons is almost constant because the nuclear force is a long range force.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (B) and (C) only
The nuclear force is the strongest force inside a nucleus, but it has a short range.
(A) The electrostatic repulsive force between the protons can be greater than the nuclear force to bind the nucleons together inside a nucleus. — Incorrect. Inside a nucleus the nuclear force is much stronger than the electrostatic repulsion.
(B) The repulsive electrostatic force between protons in smaller nuclei is much smaller than the nuclear force between nucleons inside a nucleus. — Correct. The nuclear force is much larger than the repulsion between the protons.
(C) The gravitational force between nucleons is much smaller than the nuclear force between the nucleons inside a nucleus. — Correct. Gravity is weaker even than the electrostatic force.
(D) The binding energy per nucleon between nucleons is almost constant because the nuclear force is a long range force. — Incorrect. It is nearly constant because the nuclear force is short range, so it saturates.
NCERT (2026-27):
Nuclear Force – “… (i) The nuclear force is much stronger than the Coulomb force acting between charges or the gravitational forces between masses. … The gravitational force is much weaker than even Coulomb force.
(ii) The nuclear force between two nucleons falls rapidly to zero as their distance is more than a few femtometres. This leads to saturation of forces in a medium or a large-sized nucleus, which is the reason for the constancy of the binding energy per nucleon.”