Ruthenium-106 (Ru106) is used to treat melanoma in the eye. This isotope decays by β - emission with a half-life of 373.59 days. One source of the isotope is reprocessed nuclear reactor fuel. How many protons and how many neutrons does the Ru106 nucleus contain?

Answer : There are 44 protons and 62 neutrons in Ru-106 nucleus.

Explanation:

For ruthenium, the atomic number is 44 and mass number is given to be 106.

Atomic number is defined as the number of protons or number of electrons that are present in an atom.

Atomic number = Number of electrons = Number of proton

44 = number of protons

Mass number = Number of protons + Number of neutrons

106 = 44 + Number of neutrons

(106-44) = 62 = Number of neutrons

Thus there are 44 protons and 62 neutrons in Ru-106 nucleus.