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a new element is formed
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What results when radioactive decay causes loss or one more protons?
If radioactive decay causes the loss of one or more protons, the element changes into a different element with a lower atomic number. This process is known as transmutation. The new element formed will have different chemical properties than the original element due to the change in the number of protons.
What is an unstable atom?
An unstable atom is an atom that has an imbalance in the ratio of protons to neutrons in its nucleus, making it prone to undergo radioactive decay. This decay results in the emission of particles or energy in order to achieve a more stable configuration. Unstable atoms will continue to decay until they reach a state of stability.
What is nuclear instability?
Nuclear instability is when the nucleus of an atom is unstable because of an improper ratio of protons to neutrons. Nuclear instability causes radioactive decay because the nucleus emits radiation to stabilize itself.
What decay process will occur if an isotope lies above the band of stability on a plot of neutrons vs protons?
If an isotope lies above the band of stability on a plot of neutrons vs protons, it will undergo radioactive decay.
What does Radioactive carbon and stable carbon have in common?
Radioactive Carbon and stable Carbon both have the same number of protons and electrons. This means they both behave "chemically" the same way. For example, you can just as easily have Carbon Dioxide made from radioactive Carbon as stable Carbon.
What type of reaction results in the change of protons and neutrons?
radioactive decay
What results when radioactive decay causes loss or one more protons?
If radioactive decay causes the loss of one or more protons, the element changes into a different element with a lower atomic number. This process is known as transmutation. The new element formed will have different chemical properties than the original element due to the change in the number of protons.
Why are radioisotopes unstable and prone to undergo radioactive decay?
Radioisotopes are unstable because they have an imbalance of protons and neutrons in their atomic nuclei. This imbalance causes them to be prone to undergo radioactive decay in order to achieve a more stable configuration.
Why does thorium undergo radioactive decay?
The ratio neutrons/protons in radioactive isotopes is the cause of their innstability.
What type of radioactive decay results in uranium becoming thorium?
Alpha decay
What does it mean for an isotpe to be radioactive?
An isotope is radioactive if it undergoes spontaneous decay, emitting particles or radiation in the process. This decay results in the transformation of the atomic nucleus into a different element or a different isotope of the same element.
What type of radioactive decay releases energy from the nucleus without a change of protons neutrons?
This is a gamma-decay.
What type of radioactive decay causes the radionuclide to become an element with a higher atomic number?
Alpha decay is the type of radioactive decay that causes the radionuclide to become an element with a higher atomic number. In alpha decay, the radionuclide emits an alpha particle, which consists of two protons and two neutrons, resulting in the formation of a new element with a higher atomic number.
What causes nuclear decay?
The instability of the nuclei is the basic cause of radioactive decay.
What causes heat in center of earth?
Radioactive Decay
What king of decay causes geothermal heat?
radioactive
What actually decays in radioactive decay?
The nucleus of the atom decays, and in the process, the nucleus transforms into another element, or into an isotope or isomer of the same element. In radioactive decay, the nucleus always emits some kind of particle(s). It is the high-energy emission of these particles that we call radiation. There are many different types of radioactive decay:Alpha decay results in the emission of an alpha particle (two neutrons and two protons)Beta decay results in the emission of a beta particle (an electron or a positron)Neutron decay results in the emission of a neutronProton decay results in the emission of a protonGamma decay results in the emission of a gamma particle (a photon)Neutrino decay results in the emission of a neutrino or antineutrinoIn some cases, a combination of the above emissions takes place. For example in double beta decay, a single nucleus emits two electrons and two antineutrinos in the same event.
