# Topic Questions: 7 calculate the energy released in nuclear reactions using $E = c^2\Delta m$ — 9702 P4 Mass defect and nuclear binding energy

> 10 9702 P4 Mass defect and nuclear binding energy topic questions (32 marks) on 7 calculate the energy released in nuclear… — 7 papers, 2025–2026. Open the…

- Canonical HTML: https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/mass-defect-and-nuclear-binding-energy/7-calculate-the-energy-released-in-nuclear-reactions-using-e-c-2-delta-m/
- Markdown mirror: https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/mass-defect-and-nuclear-binding-energy/7-calculate-the-energy-released-in-nuclear-reactions-using-e-c-2-delta-m/index.md

---

CIE IAL · Physics · 9702 P4 · Mass defect and nuclear binding energy

10 9702 P4 Mass defect and nuclear binding energy topic questions are tagged to this syllabus point across 7 papers (2025–2026). Only the parts whose knowledge graph matches this syllabus statement are counted, and the table shows which parts of each question are involved.

- 10 topic questions
- 7 papers
- 32 tagged marks
- 50.0% of topic questions
- 62.7% of topic marks
- 2025–2026
- Syllabus 2025–2027
- [All 9702 P4 Mass defect and nuclear binding energy topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/mass-defect-and-nuclear-binding-energy/)
- [All paper codes](https://www.examsci.com/topics/)

Core finding

**This Mass defect and nuclear binding energy syllabus point appears in 7 9702 P4 papers across 2025–2026, contributing 10 topic questions and 32 marks.** The most recent appearance is 9702/41 May/June 2026. That equals 50.0% of the 20 topic questions and 62.7% of the 51 marks tagged to Mass defect and nuclear binding energy. Only parts tagged to this subtopic are counted, so a four-part question can contribute one item and one part's marks. The table lists every matching question, its tagged parts and marks, with a link back to the paper page. Sessions are newest first, so the statement can be traced back through the full paper history.

## Topic questions by session

Newest sessions first. Parts and marks count only the parts tagged to this subtopic; “x of y parts” shows how much of the question is tagged elsewhere. Select the paper cell to open the matching question on the paper page, or use **Go to Practice Hub** to answer that exact question in the Interactive Practice Hub.

| Paper | Question | Type | Parts | Marks | Difficulty | Practice |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [**9702/41** May/June 2026 · CIE IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2026-may-june-9702-41/#q-9) | **Q9** Mass Defect and Alpha Decay Energy Release - CIE A-Level Physics 2026 May/Jun Paper 41 Q9 | FRQ | 1 of 3 parts ((b)(ii)) | 3 of 9 on the paper | Easy | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=d21ce83a-10e6-4bdf-a0d4-2e58f3af8049&question_id=8677582a-1a16-4312-9c26-c2dbd1878522&source_detail=9702%2F41+May%2FJune+2026) |
| [**9702/42** May/June 2026 · CIE IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2026-may-june-9702-42/#q-10) | **Q10** Nuclear Fusion in Stars and Stellar Mass Consumption Rate - CIE A-Level Physics 2026 Jun Paper 42 Q10 | FRQ | 2 of 5 parts ((b)(ii), (c)(ii)) | 6 of 11 on the paper | Easy | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=a6b3f991-4e08-4777-b0c1-71ae2ebf6845&question_id=bd3f13ca-5d80-4b6b-ba10-53c692abe339&source_detail=9702%2F42+May%2FJune+2026) |
| [**9702/43** May/June 2026 · CIE IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2026-may-june-9702-43/#q-9) | **Q9** Mass Defect, Alpha Decay and Energy Released - CIE A Level Physics | FRQ | 2 of 3 parts ((b)(i), (b)(ii)) | 7 of 9 on the paper | Easy | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=edd532bd-59ad-4999-a78f-544da637ca77&question_id=7d9724ae-66f7-41e6-b26d-4c3bf448794b&source_detail=9702%2F43+May%2FJune+2026) |
| [**9702/41** October/November 2025 · CIE IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2025-october-november-9702-41/#q-8) | **Q8** Alpha Decay of Uranium-238 and Gamma Emission - CIE A-Level Physics 2025 Winter Paper 41 Q8 | FRQ | 1 of 5 parts ((b)(i)) | 3 of 11 on the paper | Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=22b36eba-f539-4430-a18e-5cc992ed7b60&question_id=f9b4707f-f1c5-4ba5-94f5-635b8f829b0f&source_detail=9702%2F41+October%2FNovember+2025) |
| [**9702/42** October/November 2025 · CIE IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2025-october-november-9702-42/#q-9) | **Q9** Nuclear Fusion, Sirius Luminosity and Standard Candles - CIE Physics 2025 Nov Paper 42 Q9 | FRQ | 1 of 5 parts ((b)) | 4 of 13 on the paper | Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=be8ce179-8cd6-48f3-9c64-978393c433d0&question_id=3dd944b9-d040-4bf5-a906-ef9d151c1e35&source_detail=9702%2F42+October%2FNovember+2025) |
| [**9702/43** October/November 2025 · CIE IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2025-october-november-9702-43/#q-8) | **Q8** Alpha Decay Energy Release and Photon Emission - CIE A-Level Physics 2025 Nov Paper 43 Q8 | FRQ | 1 of 5 parts ((b)(i)) | 3 of 11 on the paper | Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=2c7a7b76-b76f-497c-b2e3-0d26c11cc373&question_id=77c8f57c-0e91-4a1d-95cd-6855c3ecb351&source_detail=9702%2F43+October%2FNovember+2025) |
| [**9702/44** May/June 2025 · CIE IAL](https://www.examsci.com/past-papers/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/2025-may-june-9702-44/#q-11) | **Q11** Nuclear Fusion and Stellar Luminosity - CIE Physics 2025 May/Jun Paper 44 Q11 | FRQ | 2 of 4 parts ((a)(ii), (b)(i)) | 6 of 9 on the paper | Medium | [Go to Practice Hub](https://www.examsci.com/practice?set_id=8f6a7f45-5017-416d-91d0-26c0ee52a71b&question_id=d5d8a6a2-663a-4dda-9a8e-5bd19fcaada0&source_detail=9702%2F44+May%2FJune+2025) |

## Related topic questions in Mass defect and nuclear binding energy

- [1 understand the equivalence between energy and mass as represented by $E = mc^2$ and recall and use this equation](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/mass-defect-and-nuclear-binding-energy/1-understand-the-equivalence-between-energy-and-mass-as-represented-by-e-mc-2-and/) — 6 question items · 6 papers — 14 marks · 2025–2026
- [2 represent simple nuclear reactions by nuclear equations of the form $^{14}_{7}N + ^{4}_{2}He \rightarrow ^{17}_{8}O + ^{1}_{1}H$](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/mass-defect-and-nuclear-binding-energy/2-represent-simple-nuclear-reactions-by-nuclear-equations-of-the-form-14-7-n-4-2-he/) — 4 question items · 4 papers — 11 marks · 2025–2026
- [3 define and use the terms mass defect and binding energy](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/mass-defect-and-nuclear-binding-energy/3-define-and-use-the-terms-mass-defect-and-binding-energy/) — 5 question items · 5 papers — 11 marks · 2025–2026
- [5 explain what is meant by nuclear fusion and nuclear fission](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/mass-defect-and-nuclear-binding-energy/5-explain-what-is-meant-by-nuclear-fusion-and-nuclear-fission/) — 2 question items · 2 papers — 5 marks · 2025
- [6 explain the relevance of binding energy per nucleon to nuclear reactions, including nuclear fusion and nuclear fission](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/mass-defect-and-nuclear-binding-energy/6-explain-the-relevance-of-binding-energy-per-nucleon-to-nuclear-reactions-including/) — 2 question items · 2 papers — 8 marks · 2026

## Topic question rules and edge cases

**How many topic questions cover this syllabus point?**

7 question stems cover this subtopic across 7 papers, but only 10 tagged parts and 32 marks belong to it. Other parts of the same questions are assessed under different statements and are excluded from this page.

**Which papers include this subtopic?**

The table lists every matching session from 2025–2026. Each row links to the question anchor on the paper page, where the full paper context and practice entry point are available.

**Why can one question appear under several subtopics?**

The parts of one question can assess different syllabus statements. Each part is counted under its own subtopics, so the same question stem can appear on several subtopic pages while each page lists only the parts and marks tagged to that statement.

**Can I practise these questions with AI marking?**

Yes. Open a paper from the table and use the Interactive Practice Hub entry point. The page itself is static HTML so search engines and retrieval agents can read the full question list without executing JavaScript.

---

Full page with native tables, bar charts and Practice Hub links: https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/physics/9702-paper-4/mass-defect-and-nuclear-binding-energy/7-calculate-the-energy-released-in-nuclear-reactions-using-e-c-2-delta-m/