Which of the following are True for \( \alpha \)-decay. i. mass number, decrease by four. ii. Atomic number decreases by two. iii. mass number does not chan...

Assessment: JAMB UTME - Physics - 1991 Subject: Physics

Question 1 Report

Which of the following are True for \( \alpha \)-decay. i. mass number, decrease by four. ii. Atomic number decreases by two. iii. mass number does not change.

Answer Details
Alpha decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle consisting of two protons and two neutrons, reducing its atomic number by two and its mass number by four. Therefore, statement i is correct. The atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus, and in alpha decay, two protons are lost. Hence, statement ii is also correct. However, the number of neutrons in the nucleus remains the same in alpha decay, so statement iii is incorrect. Therefore, the correct option is "i and ii only."

Download The App On Google Playstore

Everything you need to excel in your exams

Green Bridge CBT Mobile App
Personalized AI Learning Chat Assistant
200,000+ Exam Questions Across IGCSE, JAMB, WAEC & NECO
Over 3,900 Lesson Notes
Offline Support - Learn Anytime, Anywhere
Green Bridge Timetable
Literature Summaries & Potential Questions
Track Your Performance & Progress
In-depth Explanations for Comprehensive Learning