polonium has a mass number of 212 and an atomic number of 84. in a balanced nuclear reaction, polonium releases an alpha particle to produce lead. Which option is the atomic number of lead?
A. 208
B. 80
C. 210
D. 82
D. 82
The atomic number of lead is 82. When polonium (atomic number 84) releases an alpha particle (which consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons), it forms lead. This means that the resulting element must have an atomic number that is 2 less than the original element.Therefore, the atomic number of lead is 84 (polonium) - 2 (alpha particle) = 82.