Final answer:
In a nuclear reaction, the mass number remains the same before and after the change.
Step-by-step explanation:
In a nuclear reaction, the quantity that remains the same before and after the change is the mass number (number of nucleons). The mass number represents the total number of protons and neutrons in an atom's nucleus. It is conserved in nuclear reactions because the sum of the mass numbers of the reactants is equal to the sum of the mass numbers of the products.