The stability of Fe with respect to alpha,β⁺,and β^-decay is to be determined.Do not consider the possibility of decay by electron capture.The following atomic masses are known: He: 4.002603 u Cr: 51.944768 u Mn: 55.938907 u Fe: 55.934939 u Co: 55.939841 u The Fe nuclide is A) not subject to alpha, β⁺, or β^- decay. B) subject to alpha decay only. C) subject to β⁺decay only. D) subject to β^- decay only. E) subject to β⁺or β^-decay, but not to alpha decay.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

From the given data, we can see that the atomic mass of Fe-56 is 55.934939 u. The atomic mass of the sum of the masses of He-4 (4.002603 u) and Cr-52 (51.944768 u) are 55.947371 u. Therefore, the mass of the Fe-56 nucleus is less than the sum of the masses of He-4 and Cr-52 nuclei. So, alpha decay is not possible as it requires the daughter nucleus to have a lower mass than the parent nucleus. Similarly, the atomic masses of Mn-56 (55.938907 u) and Co-56 (55.939841 u) are greater than that of Fe-56. Therefore, both β⁺ and β^- decay are also not possible as they require the parent nucleus to have a greater mass than the daughter nucleus. Hence, Fe-56 is not subject to any of these decays.

The Stability of Fe with Respect to Alpha,β+,and β-

The Stability of Fe with Respect to Alpha,β⁺,and β^-