Question

polonium has a mass number of 212 and an atomic number of 84. in a balanced nuclear reaction, polonium releases an alpha particle to produce lead. which option is the atomic number of lead

208
82
210
80

Answer 1

The atomic number of an element represents the number of protons in its nucleus. When polonium releases an alpha particle, it loses 2 protons and 2 neutrons, resulting in a decrease in the atomic number by 2. Therefore, the atomic number of lead would be 84 - 2 = 82. So, the correct option is 82.