Question

What changes occur in the nucleus of a radioactive element when it emits an alpha particle? Show by an example?

Answer 1

\[\ce{\underset{\text{92 protons 146 neutrons}}{_92^238U}
->\underset{\text{90 protons 144 neutrons}}{_90^234Th} +\underset{\text{2 protons 2 neutrons}}{_2^4He}}\]