The majority of the naturally occurring elements in the periodic table that decay radioactively are:
A)arranged randomly throughout the table, because stability is largely independent of nuclear mass.
B)at the low-mass end of the table, since the nuclear mass is too small to maintain stability.
C)in the center of the table.
D)at the high-mass end of the table, since the large atomic nuclei are unstable.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

At the high-mass end of the periodic table, the atomic nuclei are very large and unstable. This makes it more likely for the elements to decay through radioactivity. Therefore, the majority of the naturally occurring elements that decay radioactively are found at the high-mass end of the periodic table.

The Majority of the Naturally Occurring Elements in the Periodic