the nuclide 232 Th 90 is radioactive. when one of the atoms decays, a series of alpha and beta particle emission occurs, taking the atom through many transformations to end up as an atom of 208 Pb 82. How many alpha particles are emitted in converting 232 Th 90 into 208 Pb 82?
i understand alpha and beta emission separately but i don't know how to calculate just the alpha when beta is involved too. any help is appreciated. thanks.
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Nuclear Chem - bobpursley, Monday, March 3, 2008 at 8:53am
The change in mass number is 24, is that evenly divisible by the mass number (4) of an alpha particle?
yes, 24/4 = 6, so six alpha decays?!?!?
yes, six alpha decays.
thanks alot for all of your help!
To calculate the number of alpha particles emitted in the conversion of 232 Th 90 to 208 Pb 82, you need to consider the change in mass number.
In this case, the change in mass number is 24 (232 - 208 = 24). Now, since each alpha particle emission results in a decrease of 4 in the mass number, you need to see how many times 4 can divide evenly into 24.
When you divide 24 by 4, you get 6 (24/4 = 6). This means that there will be 6 alpha particle emissions during the conversion process. Each alpha emission results in the loss of 2 protons and 2 neutrons in the nucleus.
So, in total, 6 alpha particles will be emitted when converting 232 Th 90 into 208 Pb 82.