Answer the following questions:
Are the equations of nuclear reactions (such as those given in Section 13.7) ‘balanced’ in the sense a chemical equation (e.g., 2H2 + O2→ 2 H2O) is? If not, in what sense are they balanced on both sides?
If both the number of protons and the number of neutrons are conserved in each nuclear reaction, in what way is mass converted into energy (or vice-versa) in a nuclear reaction?
A general impression exists that mass-energy interconversion takes place only in nuclear reaction and never in chemical reaction. This is strictly speaking, incorrect. Explain.

Explanation

(a) A chemical equation is balanced in the sense that the number of
atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the equation.
A chemical reaction merely alters the original combinations of
atoms. In a nuclear reaction, elements may be transmuted. Thus,
the number of atoms of each element is not necessarily conserved
in a nuclear reaction. However, the number of protons and the
number of neutrons are both separately conserved in a nuclear
reaction. [Actually, even this is not strictly true in the realm of
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