practice: americium - 241 is a radioactive isotope used in smoke detectors. write an equation for the alpha…

Explanation:

Step1: Recall alpha - decay formula

In alpha - decay, the general equation is $^{A}{Z}X\rightarrow^{A - 4}{Z - 2}Y+^{4}_{2}He$. Americium - 241 has atomic number $Z = 95$ and mass number $A=241$.

Step2: Calculate the products

For the daughter nucleus, the mass number of the daughter nucleus $A_d=241 - 4=237$ and the atomic number $Z_d=95 - 2 = 93$. The element with atomic number 93 is neptunium (Np). The alpha - particle is $^{4}_{2}He$.

Answer:

$^{241}{95}Am\rightarrow^{237}{93}Np + ^{4}_{2}He$