Identify the unknown isotope X in the following decays.X⟶224Ra+α View Available Hint(s)for Part A228Rn 226Ra 228Ra 226Rn 226Th 228Th
Question
Identify the unknown isotope X in the following decays.
X ⟶ 224Ra + α
View Available Hint(s) for Part A
- 228Rn
- 226Ra
- 228Ra
- 226Rn
- 226Th
- 228Th
Solution
The unknown isotope X in the decay X ⟶ 224Ra + α can be identified by understanding that an alpha particle (α) is equivalent to a helium-4 nucleus, which has 2 protons and 2 neutrons.
Step 1: Identify the atomic number and mass number of the known isotope (224Ra). Radium (Ra) has an atomic number of 88 and a mass number of 224.
Step 2: An alpha particle (α) has an atomic number of 2 (because it has 2 protons) and a mass number of 4 (because it has 2 protons and 2 neutrons).
Step 3: The unknown isotope X must have an atomic number and mass number such that when it decays and loses an alpha particle, it becomes 224Ra.
Step 4: Therefore, the atomic number of X must be 88 (from Ra) + 2 (from α) = 90. The mass number of X must be 224 (from Ra) + 4 (from α) = 228.
Step 5: The element with atomic number 90 is Thorium (Th), so the unknown isotope X is 228Th.
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