Larger Binding per Nucleon Means Deeper Budget - Nuclear Radiation: Decay, Binding, and Shielding Step by Step

Compare two nuclei by binding budget per nucleon, not just by total binding. The toy fractions are 3/4 joule per nucleon on the left and 4/5 on the right, so cross multiplication picks the deeper right-hand budget; real comparisons depend on measured masses, calibration, units, and propagated uncertainty.

Binding-per-nucleon comparisons use exact fractions. Exact arithmetic here means exact results for the stated model inputs; measured inputs still carry uncertainty and significant-figure limits.

highlighted = computed this step

Compare binding per nucleon as exact fractions

The left case gives three fourths of a joule per nucleon; the right case gives four fifths of a joule per nucleon.

\tfrac{3}{4}\quad \tfrac{4}{5}

Cross multiplication decides the deeper budget

4 times 4 is greater than 3 times 5, so the right budget wins.

4\times4=16>15=3\times5