When the daughter nucleus produced in a radioactive decay is itself unstable, it will eventually decay and form its own daughter nucleus. if the newly formed daughter nucleus is also unstable, another decay will occur, and the process will continue until a nonradioactive nucleus is formed. such a series of radioactive decays is called a decay chain.

a good example of a decay chain is provided by 232 90th, a naturally occurring isotope of thorium.

what is the energy q released in the first step of the thorium-232 decay chain? the atomic mass of 232 90th is 232.038054 u and the atomic mass of 228 88ra is 228.0301069 u.

answer in (mev) and show your work

Amass m = 74 kg slides on a frictionless track that has a drop, followed by a loop-the-loop with radius r = 18.4 m and finally a flat straight section at the same height as the center of the loop (18.4 m off the ground). since the mass would not make it around the loop if released from the height of the top of the loop (do you know why? ) it must be released above the top of the loop-the-loop height. (assume the mass never leaves the smooth track at any point on its path.) 1. what is the minimum speed the block must have at the top of the loop to make it around the loop-the-loop without leaving the track? 2. what height above the ground must the mass begin to make it around the loop-the-loop? 3. if the mass has just enough speed to make it around the loop without leaving the track, what will its speed be at the bottom of the loop? 4. if the mass has just enough speed to make it around the loop without leaving the track, what is its speed at the final flat level (18.4 m off the ground)? 5. now a spring with spring constant k = 15600 n/m is used on the final flat surface to stop the mass. how far does the spring compress?