The mass number of an element is NOT changed when it emits
- A.Alpha and Beta radiations only
- B.Alpha and Gamma radiations only
- C.Beta and Gamma radiations only
- D.Alpha, Beta and Gamma radiations
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Beta and Gamma radiations only. Neither beta nor gamma emission changes the total number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus, so the mass number stays the same.
The mass number is the total count of protons and neutrons. In beta-minus decay a neutron turns into a proton and gives out an electron, so the atomic number rises by one but the mass number is unchanged; the element becomes the next one in the periodic table. Gamma rays are high-energy electromagnetic waves released when an excited nucleus settles to a lower energy state, so neither number changes. An alpha particle, by contrast, is a helium nucleus of two protons and two neutrons, so alpha decay lowers the mass number by four and the atomic number by two.
A is wrong because alpha emission reduces the mass number by four. B is wrong for the same reason. D is wrong because it also includes alpha emission, which does change the mass number.
Exam tip: alpha = mass number −4, atomic number −2; beta = atomic number +1; gamma = no change in either.
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following are nitrogen-fixing plants?
1. Alfalfa
2. Amaranth
3. Chickpea
4. Clover
5. Purslane (Kulfa)
6. Spinach
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- A.1, 3 and 4 only
- B.1, 3, 5 and 6 only
- C.2, 4, 5 and 6 only
- D.1, 2, 4, 5 and 6
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Alfalfa, chickpea and clover are legumes, and legumes fix nitrogen. Plants of the legume family (Fabaceae) carry root nodules that house Rhizobium bacteria.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following statements about facilitated transport in plants is correct?
- A.All passive transports are types of facilitated transport.
- B.Facilitated transport is an example of active transport.
- C.Water moves across plasma membrane by active transport.
- D.Facilitated transport requires assistance of carrier proteins.
Show answer
In facilitated transport, molecules cross the membrane with the help of membrane proteins, while still moving down their concentration gradient.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following has coined the term 'Quark', the fundamental particles that make up protons and neutrons in an atomic nucleus ?
- A.Richard Feynman
- B.Murray Gell-Mann
- C.Albert Einstein
- D.Niels Bohr
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The American physicist Murray Gell-Mann proposed quarks in 1964 and gave them their name. Gell-Mann, and independently George Zweig, suggested that protons, neutrons and other such particles are built from smaller units.
Read the full explanation →The spindle fibre is attached to which of the following specific regions of the chromosomes?
- A.Kinetochore
- B.Chromonema
- C.Telomere
- D.Centriole
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Spindle fibres attach to the kinetochore, a disc-shaped protein structure on the centromere of each chromosome. During cell division the spindle, made of microtubules, pulls the copies of each chromosome apart.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is the chemical name of heavy water?
- A.Hydrogen oxide
- B.Deuterium dioxide
- C.Deuterium oxide
- D.Heavy hydrogen oxide
Show answer
Heavy water is D₂O: two atoms of deuterium joined to one atom of oxygen. Deuterium is the isotope of hydrogen with one proton and one neutron in its nucleus, so it is about twice as heavy as ordinary hydrogen.
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