238/92 U → 4/2 He + 234/90 blank
Fill in the blank
The element in the missing box is ____. (Use the symbol from the periodic table, not the whole name.)
The element in the missing box is Th (Thorium).
To determine the element in the missing box, we need to balance the equation:
238/92 U → 4/2 He + 234/90 blank
We know that Uranium (U) has an atomic number of 92, which means it has 92 protons. Helium (He) has an atomic number of 2, which means it has 2 protons.
To balance the equation, both sides of the equation must have the same total number of protons. In this case, Uranium (U) has 92 protons, and Helium (He) has 2 protons. Therefore, the missing element must have 92 - 2 = 90 protons.
According to the periodic table, the element with 90 protons is Thorium (Th). Therefore, the element in the missing box is Th.
To determine the element in the missing box, we need to use the information given in the nuclear equation.
The equation represents a nuclear reaction, wherein the reactant on the left side (238/92 U) undergoes radioactive decay and transforms into the products on the right side.
In the equation, the product on the right side consists of three particles:
1. 4/2 He: This represents an alpha particle, which consists of two protons and two neutrons. The atomic number of an element is equal to the number of protons it has. Therefore, the atomic number is 2, which corresponds to helium (He) on the periodic table.
2. 234/90 X: The atomic number of the element represented by X is not provided directly in the equation. However, since the equation is balanced, the atomic number of X can be determined by subtracting the atomic numbers of the other two particles from the atomic number of uranium (92).
Therefore, 92 - 2 = 90. This means that the element represented by X has an atomic number of 90. Referring to the periodic table, 90 corresponds to the element thorium (Th).
Hence, we can conclude that the missing element in the equation is "234/90 Th."