What happens when polonium-214 undergoes alpha decay?

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What happens when polonium-214 undergoes alpha decay?

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Answer 1 · 2017-10-29T21:57:40

$_{84}^{214} Po \to_{82}^{210} Pb +_{2}^{4} He$ $""_84^214"Po" -> ""_82^210"Pb" + ""_2^4"He"$

Explanation:

An alpha particle is a Helium ion with a charge of $+ 2$ $+2$ . The number of protons is $2$ $2$ and the number of neutrons is $2$ $2$ . The total mass is $4$ $4$ .

When an alpha particle is emitted the mass number goes down by $4$ $4$ and the atomic number goes down by $2$ $2$ .

So

$214 - 4 = 210$ $214 -4 = 210" "$ for the mass number
$84 - 2 = 82$ $84-2 = 82 " "$ for the atomic number.

$82$ $82$ is the atomic number of Lead, $Pb$ $"Pb"$ , so the equation is

$_{84}^{214} Po \to_{82}^{210} Pb +_{2}^{4} He$ $""_84^214"Po" -> ""_82^210"Pb" + ""_2^4"He"$

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What happens when polonium-214 undergoes alpha decay?

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