Question

When a radioactive isotope releases an alpha particle, the atomic number of the atom is (2 points)

Answer 1

When alpha decay takes place, two protons and two neutrons are forcefully ejected from the nucleus in a way that looks very similar to a Helium nucleus. This type of decay causes the atomic mass of the parent particle to drop by four (four particles lost), but the atomic number drops by only two (two protons lost). Therefore, your answer is C.

Answer 2

The best possible answer to this question would be option C