What will be the change in atomic number and atomic mass of an element 𝑋𝑧𝐴, when two alpha particles are emitted from its nucleus?
Question
What will be the change in atomic number and atomic mass of an element 𝑋𝑧𝐴, when two alpha particles are emitted from its nucleus?
Solution
When an alpha particle is emitted from a nucleus, the atomic number decreases by 2 and the atomic mass decreases by 4.
Step 1: Understand the effect of one alpha particle emission An alpha particle consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons. So, when an alpha particle is emitted, the atomic number (Z) decreases by 2 (due to loss of 2 protons) and the atomic mass (A) decreases by 4 (due to loss of 2 protons and 2 neutrons).
Step 2: Apply the effect to two alpha particle emissions Since the element X is emitting two alpha particles, we multiply the effect of one alpha particle emission by 2.
So, the atomic number will decrease by 22 = 4 and the atomic mass will decrease by 42 = 8.
Therefore, after the emission of two alpha particles, the atomic number of the element will be (Z-4) and the atomic mass will be (A-8).
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