Experiments show that the nuclear radius scales as $R = R_0\,A^{1/3}$ with $R_0 \approx 1.2\,\text{fm}$. A direct consequence of this is that
Anuclear density is the same for ALL nuclei, independent of mass number $A$
Bnuclear density increases linearly with $A$
Cnuclear density decreases as $1/A$
Dthe nuclear radius is proportional to atomic mass squared
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. nuclear density is the same for ALL nuclei, independent of mass number $A$
1. Nuclear volume: $V = \dfrac{4}{3}\pi R^3 = \dfrac{4}{3}\pi R_0^3 A$ (using $R^3 = R_0^3 A$).
2. Nuclear mass: $M \approx A\,u$ (mass number times atomic mass unit).
3. Density: $\rho = M/V = \dfrac{A\,u}{\frac{4}{3}\pi R_0^3 A} = \dfrac{u}{\frac{4}{3}\pi R_0^3}$.
4. The $A$ in numerator and denominator CANCELS — the result depends only on universal constants $u$ and $R_0$. So nuclear density is the SAME for every nucleus (about $2.3\times 10^{17}\,\text{kg/m}^3$).
5. Sanity check (Example 13.1, NCERT): for iron $A=56$, the same formula gives $\rho \approx 2.3\times 10^{17}\,\text{kg/m}^3$. The same number emerges for any other $A$.
_Source: NCERT Class 12 Physics Part 2, Ch 13, §13.3 (Size of the Nucleus) + Example 13.1, p. 4._
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