The process in which a radioactive isotope tends to break down into a stable isotope?

The process in which a radioactive isotope tends to break down into a stable isotope?

• A. Fission
• B. Radioactive decay
• C. Fusion
• D. Mass number

Answer: (B)

Radioactive decay is the process by which an unstable nucleus spontaneously transforms into a more stable configuration, often emitting radiation as it does so. This transformation changes the isotope (or even the element) and proceeds with a characteristic half-life. The other ideas describe different phenomena: fission is the splitting of a heavy nucleus into lighter pieces, fusion is the combining of light nuclei into heavier ones, and mass number is simply the total count of protons and neutrons, not a process. So radioactive decay is the correct concept.

Radioactive decay is the process by which an unstable nucleus spontaneously transforms into a more stable configuration, often emitting radiation as it does so. This transformation changes the isotope (or even the element) and proceeds with a characteristic half-life. The other ideas describe different phenomena: fission is the splitting of a heavy nucleus into lighter pieces, fusion is the combining of light nuclei into heavier ones, and mass number is simply the total count of protons and neutrons, not a process. So radioactive decay is the correct concept.