Question

As of the time our textbook went to press, 118 different elements had been discovered. All of the ones with atomic number over 92 have been made in physics laboratories. When element 119 (one that has not yet been identified) is found, provided it is like the other artificially made elements, it will:

A

have only protons, no neutrons at all

B

soon be used in industry to make new kinds of plastics

C

have one of the smallest nuclei known

D

only remain stable for an extremely small fraction of a second

E

eventually be found in the Sun (with very high quality spectrometers)

Answer 1

Option D is the most likely answer: element 119 will only remain stable for an extremely small fraction of a second.

This is because all elements with atomic numbers greater than 92 (i.e., the actinides) are unstable and undergo radioactive decay, with their isotopes having extremely short half-lives. As element 119 would have an atomic number greater than 92, it is highly likely that it too would be unstable and undergo radioactive decay, making it difficult to observe and study.

Option A is not possible, as all elements require neutrons in their nuclei to have stable isotopes. Option B is unlikely, as the properties of element 119 are unknown and it would need to be studied extensively before any industrial applications could be developed. Option C is also unlikely, as elements with large atomic numbers tend to have larger nuclei. Option E is also unlikely, as it is not clear how element 119 could be produced in the Sun, given that it is a highly unstable element.