Question

An atom that has 84 protons and 86 neutrons undergoes a reaction. At the end of the reaction, it has 82 protons and 84 neutrons. What happened to the atom? It accepted radiation in a chemical reaction. It donated neutrons to another atom in a chemical reaction. It emitted an alpha particle in a nuclear reaction. It accepted protons in a nuclear reaction.

Answer 1

The answer is C It emitted an alpha particle in a nuclear reaction

Step-by-step explanation:

Right on Edge

Answer 2

It emitted an alpha particle in a nuclear reaction

Step-by-step explanation:

The initial atom has:

84 protons and 86 neutrons

After the reaction, the atom has

82 protons and 84 neutrons

It means that the atom has lost 2 protons and 2 neutrons. Therefore, the atom has emitted a particle containing 2 protons and 2 neutrons: this corresponds to an alpha particle, which is a nucleus of helium, consisting in fact of 2 protons and 2 neutrons.

The process that took place is called alpha decay.