1. Answer;
a. the strong nuclear force is much greater than the electric force.
Explanation;
- For an atom to be stable it means it has enough amount of binding energy to hold its nucleus together permanently.
- Therefore, an unstable atom lacks enough amount of binding energy to hold its nucleus permanently and thus undergoes decay to achieve stability. Unstable atoms are therefore referred to being radioactive.
Small atoms are stable; this is because they have equal number of protons and neutrons and thus the protons and neutrons fill up energy levels while maximizing the strong force binding the nucleus together.
9. Answer;
b. change into a different element altogether.
Uranium-238 undergoes alpha decay. Therefore, uranium-238 will change into a different element altogether.
Explanation;
- Unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay in order to achieve stability of their nucleus.
- Uranium-238 is an example of such atom, which may undergo decay to achieve stability.
- Alpha decay is one of the types of decays, others being beta decay and gamma decay. In alpha decay the radioactive isotope undergoes decay such that its mass number is decreased by four and its atomic number is decreased by two.
Therefore, Uranium-238 undergoes alpha decay to form a different element whose mass number is 234 and atomic number is 90, known as thorium-234.
