Radium-223 nuclei usually decay by alpha emission. Once in every billion decays, a radium-223 nucleus emits a carbon-14 nucleus. Write a balanced nuclear equation for alpha emission. Write a balanced nuclear equation for carbon-14 emission.
To write a balanced nuclear equation for alpha emission, we need to understand that an alpha particle consists of two protons and two neutrons, which is essentially the nucleus of a helium atom.
The balanced nuclear equation for alpha emission from a radium-223 nucleus can be written as:
^223Ra -> ^4He + ^219Rn
This equation indicates that a radium-223 nucleus (^223Ra) decays and emits an alpha particle (^4He), resulting in the formation of a radon-219 nucleus (^219Rn).
Now, for carbon-14 emission, we are given that it occurs only once in every billion decays of a radium-223 nucleus. This means that it is an extremely rare event. Since carbon-14 consists of 6 protons and 8 neutrons, the balanced nuclear equation for carbon-14 emission from a radium-223 nucleus can be written as:
^223Ra -> ^14C + X
In this equation, "X" represents the remaining products resulting from the decay. It is important to note that in real situations, there may be multiple outcomes or other decay products, and the "X" accounts for those.