A nucleus emits one alpha particle.

PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Nuclei · Nuclei

Problem

A nucleus ZAX^{A}_{Z}X emits one alpha particle. (i) Explain how its atomic number and mass number change as a result of this emission. (ii) Show that the neutron number of the nucleus decreases by 2 in this process. (iii) If the original neutron–to–proton ratio was NZ\dfrac{N}{Z}, express the new neutron–to–proton ratio after the decay in terms of NN and ZZ. State whether this ratio increases or decreases and justify your answer briefly.

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