Two Deuterium Nuclei ${ } _ { 1 } ^ { 2 } \mathrm { H }$

Multiple Choice

Two deuterium nuclei, ${ } _ { 1 } ^ { 2 } \mathrm { H }$ , fuse to produce a tritium nucleus, ${ } _ { 1 } ^ { 3 } \mathrm { H }$ , plus an ordinary hydrogen nucleus, ${ } _ { 1 } ^ { 1 } \mathrm { H }$ . A neutral deuterium atom has a mass of $2.014102 \mathrm { u }$ ; a neutral tritium atom has a mass of $3.016050 \mathrm { u }$ ; a neutral hydrogen atom has a mass of $1.007825 \mathrm { u }$ ; a neutron has a mass of $1.008665 \mathrm { u }$ ; and a proton has a mass of $1.007277 \mathrm { u }$ . How much energy is released in this fusion process? (1 u = 931.5 MeV/ $/ c ^ { 2 }$ )

A) $6.58 \mathrm { MeV }$
B) $3.53 \mathrm { MeV }$
C) $3.03 \mathrm { MeV }$
D) $4.53 \mathrm { MeV }$
E) $4.03 \mathrm { MeV }$