Radioactive decay question Ra to Rn

AI Thread Summary
Radium-226 undergoes alpha decay to produce radon-222 and an alpha particle, releasing approximately 488 MeV of energy. The mass defect calculation, based on the given masses of the radium, radon, and alpha particle, confirms this energy release. The kinetic energy of the decay products is determined by their mass ratio, with radon receiving a kinetic energy of about 9 MeV and the alpha particle about 479 MeV. The conservation of momentum principle is applied to derive the kinetic energy distribution between the two products. The discussion effectively addresses the energy released and the subsequent kinetic energies of the decay products.
rshalloo
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Homework Statement



Ra (mass number 226 atomic number 88) undergoes alpha decay to form radon. If the mass of a radium nucleus is 3.753152x10-25kg, the mass of the radon nucleus is 3.686602x10-25kg and the mass of the alpha particle is 6.646322x10-27kg, find the energy released in the alpha decay in MeV.

If the ratio of the mass of the products of the decay is equal to the ratio of their mass numbers, find the kinetic energy of both products after the decay

charge of electron=1.6x10-19C
speed of light in a vacuum=3x108ms-1

The Attempt at a Solution



So for the first part I got .488MeV using the mass defect and E=mc2 (could well be wrong) but I am stuck on the second part i don't understand what they are talking about ratios for?
 
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rshalloo said:

Homework Statement


Ra (mass number 226 atomic number 88) undergoes alpha decay to form radon. If the mass of a radium nucleus is 3.753152x10-25kg, the mass of the radon nucleus is 3.686602x10-25kg and the mass of the alpha particle is 6.646322x10-27kg, find the energy released in the alpha decay in MeV.
If the ratio of the mass of the products of the decay is equal to the ratio of their mass numbers, find the kinetic energy of both products after the decay
charge of electron=1.6x10-19C
speed of light in a vacuum=3x108ms-1

{Ra}_{88}^{226}\rightarrow{\alpha}_2^4+{Rn}_{86}^{222}

\text{energy released}=\frac{(3.753152\times{10}^{-25}-3.686601\times{10}^{-25}-6.646322\times{10}^{-27})(3\times{10}^8)^2}{1.6\times10^{-19}}=488MeVKE=\frac{mv^2}{2}=\frac{m^{2}v^2}{2m}

\text{By conservation of linear momentum}, m_{\alpha}v_{\alpha}=m_{Rn}v_{Rn}

\therefore\ \ \ \ \ \frac{KE_{\alpha}}{KE_{Rn}}=\frac{m_{Rn}}{m_\alpha}=\frac{222}{4}

I think all the decay energy goes to KE. Then:KE_\alpha=488MeV\times\frac{222}{222+4}=479MeV\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ KE_{Rn}=9MeV
 
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