According to the law of conservation of charge, in alpha decay, the number of protons on one side of the?

Question

equation equals the number of protons on the other side of the equation. ]


A. True
B. False

Answer 1

True.

Protons, like energy, cannot be created or destroyed, therefore there have to be equal numbers on either side of an equation.

Answer 2

Your statement is True, though I'm not sure that is the correct definition of the law of conservation of charge.

In an alpha decay, the radioactive nucleus spits out an alpha particle (which is, to all intents and purposes, a helium nucleus) with a mass of 4, atomic number of 2, and a charge of +2.

That means that the daughter nucleus of the decay will have a mass that is 4 less than the parent nucleus, and an atomic number 2 less than the parent. There may also be a pair of stray electrons floating around.

For example:

U235 ====> Th231 + α

Uranium 235 (Atomic number 92) would decay by alpha emission (mass of 4 with 2 protons and 2 neutrons) to make Thorium 231 (atomic number 90). There are 92 protons on each side of the equation