Question

Because of binding energy, the atomic mass of a nucleus compared to the sum of the masses of its individual nucleons (protons plus neutrons) is what?

Answer 1

Smaller

Explanation:

The Atomic (more precisely, nuclear) mass of a nucleus is given by sum of the masses of the constituent particles, reduced by the binding energy divided by the square of the speed of light. This is an application of the famous mass-energy equivalence principle.