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GCSE

Measuring and Detecting Radioactivity

Question

What happens to the mass number and atomic in alpha decay?

3 years ago

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Gladys Wuckert


1 Answer

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Alpha particles are packages of two protons and two neutrons and are emitted when the nucleus of an isotope has too few neutrons.


Emission of an alpha particle causes the mass number to decrease by 4 and the atomic number to decrease by 2.

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