Bioenvironmental Engineering (BEE) Block 7 Practice Test

For light elements, meaning those with fewer protons, the appropriate ratio is what?

1:1 2:1 1:2 3:1

Correct Answer:

1:1

Explanation:

The main idea is that light, stable nuclei have roughly equal numbers of neutrons and protons. This neutron-to-proton balance (N/Z) near 1:1 provides enough strong-force binding while keeping the electrostatic repulsion between protons from getting too large. For these small nuclei, adding extra neutrons isn’t needed to stabilize them, so N approximately equals Z. As nuclei become heavier, more neutrons are needed to offset increasing proton repulsion, so the ratio grows above 1. Therefore, for light elements the appropriate ratio is 1:1.

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