Why do elements with atomic number greater than 83 show radioactivity?

Because the like charges of the protons repel each other, these forces are always trying to push the atom’s nucleus apart. All elements with atomic numbers greater than 83 are radioisotopes meaning that these elements have unstable nuclei and are radioactive.

Why are all atoms with more than 82 protons radioactive?

Radioactive Elements They are unstable because they have too much energy, too many protons, or an unstable ratio of protons to neutrons. For example, all elements with more than 83 protons—such as uranium, radium, and polonium—have unstable nuclei. They are called radioactive elements.

Why does an atom undergo radioactive decay?

Every atom seeks to be as stable as possible. In the case of radioactive decay, instability occurs when there is an imbalance in the number of protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus. If the nucleus of an atom is unstable, eventually it will break apart to lose at least some of the particles that make it unstable.

What happens to atoms that have greater than 83 protons?

Eventually, a point is reached beyond which there are no stable nuclei: the bismuth nucleus with 83 protons and 126 neutrons is the largest stable nucleus. Nuclei with more than 83 protons are all unstable, and will eventually break up into smaller pieces; this is known as radioactivity.

What is the difference between a regular atom of an element and one that is considered radioactive?

What causes atoms to be radioactive? Atoms found in nature are either stable or unstable. An atom is stable if the forces among the particles that makeup the nucleus are balanced. An atom is unstable (radioactive) if these forces are unbalanced; if the nucleus has an excess of internal energy.

Why is the number of neutrons greater than the number of protons in stable nuclei having a greater than about 40?

Coulomb repulsion grows for progressively heavier nuclei, but nuclear attraction remains about the same, and so BE/A becomes smaller. This is why stable nuclei heavier than A ≈ 40 have more neutrons than protons. Coulomb repulsion is reduced by having more neutrons to keep the protons farther apart (see Figure 4).

What part of the atom can undergo a change of the atom is radioactive?

nucleus
The part of the atom that undergoes change during radioactive decay is the nucleus. This is why radioactive decay is also called nuclear decay.

Why is every nucleus larger than bismuth (# 83 unstable?

Instability in atomic nuclei occurs because the nucleus is made up of protons – each having a positive charge. These tend to increasingly repel each other as their numbers accumulate in the heavier elements.

Are all elements from 83 to 92 unstable?

Radioactive Elements In elements with more than 83 protons, all of the isotopes are radioactive. The force of repulsion among all those protons makes the nuclei unstable. Elements with more than 92 protons have such unstable nuclei that they don’t even exist in nature.