Einstein's mass-energy relation emerging out of his famous theory of relativity relates mass ($m$) to energy ($E$) as $E = mc^2$, where $c$ is speed of light in vacuum. At the nuclear level, the magnitudes of energy are very small. The energy at nuclear level is usually measured in MeV, where $1$ MeV $= 1.6 \times 10^{-13}$ J; the masses are measured in unified atomic mass unit (u) where $1\,u = 1.67 \times 10^{-27}$ kg. (a) Show that the energy equivalent of 1 u is 931.5 MeV. (b) A student writes the relation as $1\,u = 931.5$ MeV. The teacher points out that the relation is dimensionally incorrect. Write the correct relation.

Einstein's mass-energy relation emerging out of his famous theory of relativity relates mass (m) to energy (E)

NCERT Exemplar · Q44

m

(a) Show that the energy equivalent of 1 u is 931.5 MeV.

(b) A student writes the relation as

1\,u = 931.5

MeV. The teacher points out that the relation is dimensionally incorrect. Write the correct relation.

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Concept understanding — Special Relativity Mass Energy

Special Relativity: Mass and Energy

Imagine you have a ball at rest. It has some energy — its mass energy. Now you throw it. You've added kinetic energy to it. In everyday life, we think mass and energy are separate things. Special relativity says they are the same thing, just in different forms.

The Core Intuition

Before Einstein, mass was mass and energy was energy. You could convert one into the other in certain situations (burning fuel turns chemical energy into heat), but the total mass and total energy were separately conserved.

Einstein's insight was deeper. He realised that mass is a form of energy. If you add energy to an object (heat it, speed it up, compress it), its mass increases. If you take energy away, its mass decreases. The two are not just convertible — they are identical in nature.

Note

This is why nuclear reactions release so much energy. A tiny amount of mass completely converts into energy. The mass doesn't "disappear" — it becomes energy, and the total mass-energy is conserved.

The Precise Statement

The famous equation:

E = mc^2

Here:

$E$ is the total energy of an object at rest (its rest energy)
$m$ is the rest mass (the mass you measure when the object isn't moving relative to you)
$c$ is the speed of light in vacuum ( $3 \times 10^8$ m/s)

This means: a stationary object of mass $m$ contains an enormous amount of energy, locked inside its mass. The $c^2$ factor is huge — one kilogram of mass contains $9 \times 10^{16}$ joules of energy, enough to power a city for years.

What About Moving Objects?

When an object moves, its total energy increases. The full equation is:

E_{\text{total}} = \gamma m c^2

where $\gamma = \frac{1}{\sqrt{1 - v^2/c^2}}$ is the Lorentz factor.

For a moving object, you can split the total energy into two parts:

E_{\text{total}} = \underbrace{mc^2}_{\text{rest energy}} + \underbrace{(\gamma - 1)mc^2}_{\text{kinetic energy}}

At low speeds ( $v \ll c$ ), $\gamma \approx 1 + \frac{v^2}{2c^2}$ , so the kinetic energy becomes approximately $\frac{1}{2}mv^2$ — the familiar Newtonian formula. Relativity doesn't contradict everyday physics; it extends it.

Important

The mass $m$ in $E=mc^2$ is the rest mass — it does not change with speed. What changes is the total energy. Some older textbooks talk about "relativistic mass" ( $\gamma m$ ), but modern physics avoids this. Rest mass is the fundamental property.

A Concrete Example

Consider a 1 kg block of iron at rest. Its rest energy is:

E = (1\ \text{kg}) \times (3 \times 10^8\ \text{m/s})^2 = 9 \times 10^{16}\ \text{J}

Now heat it so its temperature rises by 100 K. The added thermal energy is about $4.5 \times 10^4$ J. The mass of the block increases by:

\Delta m = \frac{\Delta E}{c^2} = \frac{4.5 \times 10^4}{9 \times 10^{16}} \approx 5 \times 10^{-13}\ \text{kg}

This is far too small to measure, but it's real. The block is genuinely heavier when hot.

Why This Matters

The mass-energy equivalence explains: …

Why this formula?

Special Relativity: Mass-Energy Equivalence — Why $E = mc^2$ Holds

The formula $E = mc^2$ is not a random result — it emerges naturally from the logic of special relativity and the conservation of momentum and energy. Let's build the reasoning step by step.

1. The Core Problem Relativity Solves

In Newtonian physics, mass and energy are separate:

Mass is conserved.
Energy is conserved.
They don't mix.

But in special relativity, the speed of light is the same for all observers. This forces us to rethink how momentum and energy behave when objects move at high speeds.

2. Relativistic Momentum — The First Clue

Newton's momentum is $p = mv$ . But if an object moves close to $c$ , this formula fails to conserve momentum in all reference frames.

Einstein showed that the correct relativistic momentum is:

p = \frac{mv}{\sqrt{1 - v^2/c^2}}

Here, the denominator $\sqrt{1 - v^2/c^2}$ (called the Lorentz factor $\gamma$ ) appears because time and space stretch for moving observers.

Key insight: The factor $\gamma$ means that as $v \to c$ , momentum grows without bound — even if $m$ is constant. This hints that mass and motion energy are linked.

3. Relativistic Energy — The Logical Extension

If momentum changes, energy must also change. Using the work-energy theorem (work done = change in kinetic energy), we can derive the relativistic energy.

Start from the definition of work:

W = \int F \, dx = \int \frac{dp}{dt} \, dx = \int v \, dp

Substitute $p = \gamma m v$ and integrate (using calculus):

KE = \int_0^v v \, d(\gamma m v)

After integration (details omitted for brevity, but standard in textbooks), we get:

KE = \frac{mc^2}{\sqrt{1 - v^2/c^2}} - mc^2

4. The Two Terms — Rest Energy and Kinetic Energy

The expression above splits into two parts:

First term: $\gamma m c^2$ — the total energy of the moving object.
Second term: $m c^2$ — the energy of the object at rest.

So:

E_{\text{total}} = \gamma m c^2

E_{\text{rest}} = m c^2

KE = (\gamma - 1) m c^2

5. Why $E = mc^2$ Is So Profound

The rest energy $E = mc^2$ means mass itself is a form of energy. Even when an object is completely stationary, it contains an enormous amount of energy — because $c^2$ is huge ( $9 \times 10^{16} \, \text{m}^2/\text{s}^2$ ).

Why does this happen?

Because in relativity, mass and energy are not separate — they are two sides of the same coin. The conservation laws merge into a single conservation of mass-energy.

6. The Famous Derivation (Einstein's 1905 Thought Experiment)

Einstein himself used a clever argument:

Imagine an object at rest emitting two identical light pulses in opposite directions.
The object loses energy $E$ (the light's energy).
Because light carries momentum, the object must lose mass to conserve momentum in all frames. …

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The energy equivalent of a mass is $E=mc^2$ . Evaluating $E=(1\,u)c^2$ gives $931.5$ MeV. Because mass and energy have different dimensions, the relation must retain the $c^2$ : $1\,u\cdot c^2 = 931.5$ MeV.

(a) Energy equivalent of 1 u

By Einstein's mass-energy relation, the energy corresponding to a mass $m$ is $E=mc^2$ . For $m=1\,u$ :

E=(1\,u)c^2=(1.66054\times10^{-27}\ \text{kg})(2.9979\times10^{8}\ \text{m s}^{-1})^2=1.4924\times10^{-10}\ \text{J}

Converting to MeV using $1\ \text{MeV}=1.60218\times10^{-13}\ \text{J}$ :

E=\frac{1.4924\times10^{-10}\ \text{J}}{1.60218\times10^{-13}\ \text{J MeV}^{-1}}=931.5\ \text{MeV}

Thus $1\,u$ is equivalent to $931.5$ MeV of energy.

Tip

Using the rounded values quoted in the question ( $1\,u \approx 1.67\times10^{-27}$ kg, $c \approx 3.0\times10^{8}$ m/s) instead gives $E \approx 1.503\times10^{-10}\ \text{J} \approx 939\ \text{MeV}$ — about $1\%$ higher than $931.5$ MeV, not "the same result." The standard textbook value of $931.5$ MeV needs the more precise constants used above; the rounded figures quoted in the question are only meant to fix the order of magnitude, not to reproduce $931.5$ MeV exactly.

(b) Correcting the relation …

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Here are the common mistakes students make with this mass-energy equivalence problem, and how to avoid each.

Mistake 1: Forgetting to Square the Speed of Light ( $c$ )

The Error: When calculating the energy equivalent of 1 u, students often use $E = mc$ instead of $E = mc^2$ . This leads to an answer that is off by a factor of $3 \times 10^8$ , which is enormous.
Why it happens: The formula $E = mc^2$ is so famous that students memorize it, but under exam pressure, they rush the arithmetic and forget to square $c$ .
How to Avoid: Write the formula explicitly before plugging in numbers. Every time you see a mass-energy problem, write:

E = m c^2

Then, substitute $m = 1.67 \times 10^{-27}$ kg and $c = 3 \times 10^8$ m/s. Always square $c$ first before multiplying by $m$ .

Mistake 2: Incorrect Unit Conversion (Joules to MeV)

The Error: After calculating $E$ in Joules, students either use the wrong conversion factor or divide when they should multiply. For example, they might divide by $1.6 \times 10^{-13}$ instead of multiplying.
Why it happens: Confusion between "1 MeV = $1.6 \times 10^{-13}$ J" and "1 J = $6.25 \times 10^{12}$ MeV". Students mix up which direction the conversion goes.
How to Avoid: Use the "cancelling units" method. Write the conversion as a fraction that cancels Joules:

E (\text{in MeV}) = E (\text{in J}) \times \frac{1 \text{ MeV}}{1.6 \times 10^{-13} \text{ J}}

Notice that Joules cancel out, leaving MeV. This guarantees you multiply by the correct factor.

Mistake 3: Writing the Final Relation as an Equality of Units (Part b)

The Error: The student writes $1\,u = 931.5$ MeV. The teacher marks it wrong because mass and energy are different physical quantities with different dimensions. You cannot put an equals sign between them.
Why it happens: Students see the numerical result and think "1 u gives 931.5 MeV", so they write it as a direct equality. They forget the fundamental rule of dimensional analysis.
How to Avoid: Always include the conversion factor $c^2$ . The correct relation is:

1\,u \times c^2 = 931.5 \text{ MeV}

Or, more formally:

1\,u = 931.5 \text{ MeV}/c^2

Think of $c^2$ as a "bridge" that converts mass units to energy units. Never drop it.

Mistake 4: Rounding Intermediate Values Too Early …

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Concept understanding — Special Relativity Mass Energy

Special Relativity: Mass and Energy

The Core Intuition

The Precise Statement

What About Moving Objects?

A Concrete Example

Why This Matters

Why this formula?

Special Relativity: Mass-Energy Equivalence — Why $E = mc^2$ Holds

1. The Core Problem Relativity Solves

2. Relativistic Momentum — The First Clue

3. Relativistic Energy — The Logical Extension

4. The Two Terms — Rest Energy and Kinetic Energy

5. Why $E = mc^2$ Is So Profound

6. The Famous Derivation (Einstein's 1905 Thought Experiment)

(a) Energy equivalent of 1 u

(b) Correcting the relation …

Method: Dimensional Analysis with Unit Conversion

Part (a): Energy equivalent of 1 u

Part (b): Correcting the dimensional error

Mistake 1: Forgetting to Square the Speed of Light ( $c$ )

Mistake 2: Incorrect Unit Conversion (Joules to MeV)

Mistake 3: Writing the Final Relation as an Equality of Units (Part b)

Mistake 4: Rounding Intermediate Values Too Early …

(a) Energy equivalent of 1 u

(b) Correcting the relation …

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