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Question

If Tungsten undergoes alpha decay, what element does it transmute into? Show abalanced nuclear reaction equation to demonstrate how to find the answer. The equationis set up for you, but you will need to replace the A, X, & Z for both the alpha particleand the new element.
To answer, change each of the Z, A and X values below to make the equation balanced.
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Answer 1

To determine what element Tungsten transmutes into after undergoing alpha decay, we need to know a few baseline facts:

1. An alpha particle is represented as \( \text{He}^{4}_{2} \) where:

   • \( A \) (mass number) = 4
   • \( Z \) (atomic number) = 2
   • \( X \) (is the symbol for the element, which is Helium)

2. Tungsten (W) has an atomic number of 74, and its most common isotope is Tungsten-184, represented as \( \text{W}^{184}_{74} \).

When Tungsten undergoes alpha decay, it emits an alpha particle, meaning it loses 2 protons (Z decreases by 2) and 4 nucleons (A decreases by 4).

Steps to find the new element:

1. Initial values for Tungsten:

   • \( A = 184 \)
   • \( Z = 74 \)
   • \( X = \text{W} \)

2. Values after alpha decay:

   • New mass number \( A' = A - 4 = 184 - 4 = 180 \)
   • New atomic number \( Z' = Z - 2 = 74 - 2 = 72 \)

3. Find the new element by looking up the element with atomic number 72, which is Hafnium (Hf).

Balanced nuclear reaction equation:

Now we can fill in the values into the balanced nuclear reaction equation format:

\[ \text{W}^{184}{74} \rightarrow \text{Hf}^{180}{72} + \text{He}^{4}_{2} \]

Thus, when Tungsten-184 undergoes alpha decay, it transmutates into Hafnium-180, and the balanced nuclear reaction for this process is:

\[ \text{W}^{184}{74} \rightarrow \text{Hf}^{180}{72} + \text{He}^{4}_{2} \]