GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Detailed explanation-1: -Radioactive decay is spontaneous and does not required an input of energy to occur. The stability of a particular nuclide depends on the composition of its nucleus, including the number of protons, the number of neutrons, and the proton-to-neutron ratio.

Detailed explanation-2: -Atoms radioactively decay when a lower-energy nuclear configuration exists to which they can transition. The actual decay event of an individual atom happens randomly and is not the result of the atom getting old or changing through time.

Detailed explanation-3: -As unstable atoms decay and attempt to become stable, the nuclei release energy in the form of ionizing radiation (alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays). The energy released is called ionizing radiation because it has enough energy to knock tightly bound electrons from the atom’s orbit.

Detailed explanation-4: -Radioactive decay involves the spontaneous transformation of one element into another. The only way that this can happen is by changing the number of protons in the nucleus (an element is defined by its number of protons).