To change mercury into gold, a pair of protons must be
A)removed from the mercury nucleus.
B)added to the mercury nucleus.
C)either of these
D)neither of these

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

It is not possible to change mercury into gold by simply removing or adding protons. Both mercury and gold have different numbers of protons, and changing the number of protons would result in a different element altogether. The transformation of elements from one to another requires extremely high energies, such as those found in supernovas or particle accelerators, and cannot be achieved through simple proton manipulation.

To Change Mercury into Gold, a Pair of Protons Must