Question

Which of the following is most likely a heavier stable nucleus? (select all that apply) Select all that apply: A nucleus with a neutron:proton ratio of 1.05

Answer 1

The question is incomplete, the complete question is;

Which of the following is most likely a heavier stable nucleus? (select all that apply) Select all that apply: A nucleus with a neutron:proton ratio of 1.05 A nucleus with a A nucleus with a neutron:proton ratio of 1.49 The nucleus of Sb-123 A nucleus with a mass of 187 and an atomic number of 75

Answer:

A nucleus with a A nucleus with a neutron:proton ratio of 1.49

A nucleus with a mass of 187 and an atomic number of 75

Explanation:

The stability of a nucleus depends on the number of neutrons and protons present in the nucleus. For many low atomic number elements, the number of protons and number of neutrons are equal. This implies that the neutron/proton ratio = 1

Elements with higher atomic number tend to be more stable if they have a slight excess of neutrons as this reduces the repulsion between protons.

Generally, the belt of stability for chemical elements lie between and N/P ratio of 1 to an N/P ratio of 1.5.

Two options selected have an N/P ratio of 1.49 hence they are heavy stable elements.