Question

219 86Rn→215 84Po+42He The nuclear equation shows the transmutation of a form of radon into polonium and an alpha particle. In one to two sentences, explain whether or not the reaction is balanced based on the number of protons and neutrons.

Answer 1

The nuclear equation is balanced because the total number of protons and neutrons on the left (219 and 86) equals the total on the right (215 for polonium, 4 for the alpha particle, and 84 for the protons, which also add up to 86). Thus, both the atomic numbers and mass numbers are conserved in the reaction.