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Curicun, named for marie curie, has approximately 25 different isotopes that emit an alpha particle when their nuclei decay. If curium-247, the most abundant nuclide, emit and alpha particle, what daughter nuclide is formed?

Answer :

Answer: The daughter nuclide formed is Plutonium -243

Explanation:

Alpha Decay: In this process, a heavier nuclei decays into lighter nuclei by releasing alpha particle. The mass number is reduced by 4 units and atomic number is reduced by 2 units.

[tex]^A_Z\textrm{X}\rightarrow ^{A-4}_{Z-2}\textrm{Y}+^4_2{\alpha}[/tex]

where A - mass number

Z - atomic number

X and Y are symbols of elements

For alpha decay of curium-247,

[tex]^{247}_{96}\textrm{Cm}\rightarrow ^{243}_{94}\textrm{Pu}+^4_2{\alpha}[/tex]

The daughter nuclide formed is Plutonium -243

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