Question

If a radio-active atom goes through α decay, the atomic number will decrease by 4. O True O False

Answer 1

False

Step-by-step explanation:

According to the laws of radioactive decay, when an atom undergoes an alpha decay, the mass number is decreased by 4 units and atomic number is decreased by 2 units .

`X_(Z)^(A)\overset{\alpha decay}{\rightarrow}Y_(Z-2)^(A-4)`

Thus, it is false, as the atomic number is decreased by 2 units only.