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During alpha decay of a nucleus, how doe...

During alpha decay of a nucleus, how does the neutron to proton ratio change?

Text Solution

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Let us consider `alpha`-decay of `._92U^(238)`
`._92U^(238)to ._90Th^(234)+._2He^4`
Neutron to proton ratio before `alpha`-decay
`=(238-92)/92=146/92`, and
Neutron to proton ratio after `alpha`-decay
`=(234-90)/90=144/90`.
As `144/90gt146/92`, therefore, the ratio increases.
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