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Use the following information to answer question 5.

A university student designs a device that can analyze rocks for the oil and gas industry in Alberta. His device bombards rocks with alpha particles. He then tests the device on sodium crystals, producing the following nuclear equation:
[tex]
{}_2^4 He + {}_{11}^{23} Na \rightarrow {}_1^1 H + {}_b^a X
[/tex]

5. In the nuclear equation above, the values of [tex]a[/tex] and [tex]b[/tex] respectively for element [tex]X[/tex] are, and the identity of element [tex]X[/tex] is ____.

The statement above is completed by the information in row:

\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|}
\hline
Row & Values of [tex]$a$[/tex] and [tex]$b$[/tex] & Identity of [tex]$X$[/tex] \\
\hline
A. & 27 and 13 & aluminium \\
\hline
B. & 27 and 13 & magnesium \\
\hline
C. & 26 and 12 & aluminium \\
\hline
D. & 26 and 12 & magnesium \\
\hline
\end{tabular}



Answer :

To solve the given nuclear equation:

[tex]\[ {}^4_2\text{He} + {}^{23}_{11}\text{Na} \rightarrow {}^1_1\text{H} + {}^a_b\text{X} \][/tex]

we need to balance both the mass numbers (the superscripts) and the atomic numbers (the subscripts) on both sides of the equation.

1. Balancing mass numbers (the superscripts):

The total mass number on the left-hand side is:

[tex]\[ 4 \, (\text{He}) + 23 \, (\text{Na}) = 27 \][/tex]

On the right-hand side, the total mass number is:

[tex]\[ 1 \, (\text{H}) + a \, (\text{X}) \][/tex]

Therefore, we have:

[tex]\[ 27 = 1 + a \][/tex]

Solving for [tex]\(a\)[/tex]:

[tex]\[ a = 27 - 1 = 26 \][/tex]

2. Balancing atomic numbers (the subscripts):

The total atomic number on the left-hand side is:

[tex]\[ 2 \, (\text{He}) + 11 \, (\text{Na}) = 13 \][/tex]

On the right-hand side, the total atomic number is:

[tex]\[ 1 \, (\text{H}) + b \, (\text{X}) \][/tex]

Therefore, we have:

[tex]\[ 13 = 1 + b \][/tex]

Solving for [tex]\(b\)[/tex]:

[tex]\[ b = 13 - 1 = 12 \][/tex]

With [tex]\(a = 26\)[/tex] and [tex]\(b = 12\)[/tex], we identify that element [tex]\(X\)[/tex] corresponds to the element with atomic number 12, which is aluminium ([tex]\( Al \)[/tex]).

Given these results, we must choose the correct row from the table:

\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|}
\hline
Row & \multicolumn{1}{|c|}{} & [tex]$i i$[/tex] \\
\hline
A. & 27 and 13 & aluminium \\
\hline
B. & 27 and 13 & magnesium \\
\hline
C. & 26 and 12 & aluminium \\
\hline
D. & 26 and 12 & magnesium \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

The correct row is:
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|}
\hline
C. & 26 and 12 & aluminium \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

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