Answer
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Work Step by Step
Use Figure 30–1 (page 861). For copper, with an average atomic weight A = 63.5 of its stable forms (data from Appendix B), we estimate that the average binding energy per nucleon is 8.7 MeV.
Find the total binding energy for one copper atom.
$$(63.5\;nucleons)(8.7\;MeV/nucleon)\approx 5.5\times10^2MeV$$
Calculate the number of atoms, N. We are given the mass of the penny as 3.0 g.
$$N=\frac{3.0g}{63.5g/mol}(6.02\times 10^{23}nuclei/mol)=2.844\times10^{22}atoms$$
Calculate the energy needed to disassemble the penny.
$$E=(2.844\times10^{22}atoms)(552.5MeV/atom)(1.602\times10^{-13}J/MeV)$$
$$=2.5\times10^{12}J$$