It changed name so it changed the number of protons
Polonium Po has 84 protons (atomic number 84)
Lead Pb has 82 protons (atomic number 82)
so the Po lost 2 protons
the total atomic mass changed by 4 so the Po also lost 2 neutrons
note that a Helium nucleus has two protons and two neutrons. That is what got ejected as an alpha particle.
They are on the same heavy metal row but Po is 2 columns to the right in your periodic table
when polonium-210 undergoes alpha decay, lead-206 is produced.
What is the same and different between the two elements?
1 answer
0 answers