Practicing Success
Read the information given below to answer In α-decay, the mass number of daughter nucleus is four less than that of decaying nucleus (parent nucleus). While atomic number decreases by two. In general, α-decay of parent nucleus +2He \({ }_Z^A X \) results in daughter nucleus \({ }_{Z-2}^{A-4} Y\) \({ }_Z^A X \longrightarrow{ }_{Z-2}^{A-4} Y+2^{\mathrm{He}^4} \) From Einstein’s mass energy equivalence relation and energy conservation, it is clear that this spontaneous decay is possible only when mass of decay products is less than the mass of the products. By referring the table of nuclear masses, one can check that the total mass of daughter nucleus and α-particle is indeed less than that of parent nucleus. The disintegration energy or the Q value can be calculated by formula Q = Δm.c2 |
During the α-decay process, the mass of all decay product is |
Equal to the mass of initial nucleus Less than the mass of initial nucleus Equal to the mass of α-particle Greater than the mass of initial nucleus |
Less than the mass of initial nucleus |
During α-decay : \({ }_{Z}^{A} X \stackrel{\alpha-\text { decay }}{\longrightarrow}{ }_{Z-2}^{A-4} Y \) Thus mass of product is always less than initial nucleus.The difference of mass gets converted in to energy. |