What is the total energy q released in a single fusion reaction event for the equation given in the problem introduction? use c2=1.49×10−10j/u?

Explanation:

The fusion reaction in this problem is

The total energy released in the fusion reaction is given by

where

is the speed of light

is the mass defect, which is the mass difference between the mass of the reactants and the mass of the products

For this fusion reaction we have:

is the mass of one nucleus of hydrogen

is the mass of one nucleus of helium

So the mass defect is:

The conversion factor between atomic mass units and kilograms is

So the mass defect is

And so, the energy released is: