Which of the following is NOT an example of a transmutation?

A. Uranium-238 emits an alpha particle forms thorium-234

B. Uranium-238 is bombarded with a neutron to produce uranium-239

C. Potassium-38 emits a beta particle and forms argon-38

D. Plutonium-239 is bombarded with two neutrons to produce americium-241 and a beta particle

Question

Christine Dickerson

Physics

15 March, 18:37

Which of the following is NOT an example of a transmutation?

A. Uranium-238 emits an alpha particle forms thorium-234

B. Uranium-238 is bombarded with a neutron to produce uranium-239

C. Potassium-38 emits a beta particle and forms argon-38

D. Plutonium-239 is bombarded with two neutrons to produce americium-241 and a beta particle

+1

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Ashly Wise · Answer 1

Answer

The right option is (C).

Explanation

The potassium-40 is the isotope of potassium which has the half-life of 1.251*109 years to reduce its half quantity. There are rare elements present on earth which follow the two type of beta decay. Potassium-40 is one of them which can decay as beta decay to convert into Ca-40 or electron capture decay to convert into the Ar-40. In this second decay, they also emit gamma rays. So, the right option is (C) which wrong regarding the transmutation.