(a) Draw a graph showing the variation of binding energy per nucleon (BE/A) vs mass number A for the nuclei in `20 le A le 170`.
(b) A nucleus of mass number 240 and having binding energy/nucleon 7.6 MeV splits into two fragments Y, Z of mass numbers 110 and 130 respectively. If the binding energy/nucleon of Y, Z is equal to 8.5 MeV each, calculate the energy released in the nuclear reaction

Explanation

### Solution:

**(a)** To draw the graph showing the variation of binding energy per nucleon (BE/A) vs mass number A for the nuclei in the range of 20 ≤ A ≤ 170, follow these steps:

1. **Identify the Data Points**: Collect data for various nuclei within the specified mass number range. Notable points include:
- For A = 20 (Neon), BE/A ≈ 8.0 MeV
- For A = 56 (Iron), BE/A ≈ 8.8 MeV (highest)
- For A = 130 (Tin), BE/A ≈ 8.5 MeV
...