Question

In 1984 a team of german physicists synthesized a new element by smashing an iron-58 nucleus into a lead-208 target. if a neutron was released from the collision, what is the new nuclide

Answer 1

Here in all nuclear reactions we can say that mass conservation and charge conservation is always true

Here iron nuclei smashed into lead nuclei and then a new nuclei will form which will released along with a neutron

Now in this reaction mass and charge will remain conserved

mass number of iron + mass number of lead = mass number of new nuclei + mass number of neutron

58 + 208 = x + 1

x = 265

so the new nuclei formed will have mass number A = 265

now we will use charge conservation

Number of protons in iron + number of protons in lead = number of protons in new nuclei + number of protons in neutron

26 + 82 = z + 0

z = 108

so the new nuclei will form with atomic number z = 108 and mass number A = 265

If we refer periodic table to find such atom we will see that this is $^{265}Hs$

so the new nuclei formed is $^{265}Hs$