What is the decay product for uranium-238?

The nuclear disintegration of uranium-238 forms radium-226 which disintegrates to form radon gas (radon-222). Radon decays to form a series of daughter nuclides, most of which are alpha-particle-releasing isotopes, such as polonium-210.

What type of decay does uranium 235 undergo?

alpha particle
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Decay of uranium-235 into thorium-231 and an alpha particle. Larger, more massive nuclei like uranium-235 become more stable by emitting an alpha particle, which is a helium nucleus composed of two protons and two neutrons. This process is known as alpha decay.

What isotope results when 238u undergoes alpha decay?

Uranium-238 undergoes alpha decay to become thorium-234. (The numbers following the chemical names refer to the number of protons plus neutrons.) In this reaction, uranium-238 loses two protons and two neutrons to become the element thorium-234.

What happens to uranium when it decays?

The half-life of uranium-238 is 4.5 billion years. It decays into radium-226, which in turn decays into radon-222. Radon-222 becomes polonium-210, which finally decays into a stable nuclide, lead.

Why does uranium-238 undergo radioactive decay?

Big stuff like Uranium usually undergoes alpha particle decay. An alpha particle is a helium nucleus with 2 protons and 2 neutrons. So that means Uranium is going to lose two protons and 2 neutrons. U-238 has 92 protons and (238-92 = 146 neutrons).

Why does uranium 235 undergo radioactive decay?

Uranium-235 Radioactive Decay The unstable nucleus of this radioactive isotope loses energy by emitting ionizing particles for reaching a stable state. It undergoes Alpha decay by radiating Alpha Rays (α) with decay energy of 4.679 MeV.

Is the radioactive decay of uranium-235 exothermic?

The fission of heavy elements is an exothermic reaction, and huge amounts of energy are released in the process. The nuclei produced are most often of comparable but slightly different sizes, typically with a mass ratio of products of about 3:2 for common fissile isotopes.

Which type of nuclear radiation accompanies other types of decay?

Frequently, gamma ray production accompanies nuclear reactions of all types. In the alpha decay of U-238, two gamma rays of different energies are emitted in addition to the alpha particle.

What is a radioactive decay series?

radioactive series, any of four independent sets of unstable heavy atomic nuclei that decay through a sequence of alpha and beta decays until a stable nucleus is achieved.

Why can’t we estimate the full life of a radioactive element?

Radioactive material decay depend upon its half-life which means the radioactive material will never completely decay. Why can’t we estimate full-life of a radioactive element? Why is it easy to explain decay in half-life? – Quora Radioactive material decay depend upon its half-life which means the radioactive material will never completely decay.

What do you mean by radioactive decay?

This phenomenon came to be known as Radioactive Decay. Radioactive elements are the elements or isotopes which emits radiation and undergoes the process of radioactivity. The atom particles cannot be bounded because there is no energy due to the presence of an unstable nucleus in the element’s radioisotope.

What is the decay energy of radionuclides?

Many of the radionuclides in these series decay by emission of alpha particles with energies from 4 to 6 MeV. Others in the series emit beta particles accompanied by gamma rays.

How many alpha and beta particles are emitted in a radioactive decay?

The steps involved are: Therefore, 6 alpha particles and 2 beta particles are emitted. A radioactive decay series can be shown on a graph of nucleon number against proton number. Figure shows part of a decay series. State the type of decay and balance the equation.