The heaviest particle of radiation is the _______ particle...?

Question

The heaviest particle of radiation is the _______ particle. It moves slowly and is not very penetrating. In fact, your skin can block it.


A. alpha
B. beta
C. gamma
D. epsilon

Answer 1

epsilon is not a particle.



amongst A, B, and C, the most massive is the alpha. it is a He nucleus (2 protons and 2 neutrons)

B is an electron or a positron. a single proton is ~1800 times more massive than an electron or positron.

C is massless.



answer = A



of course, another mode of radioactive decay is spontaneous fission. this produces two nuclei in the final state that are quite a bit heavier than alpha particles. but this was not amongst the choices. if there was a choice "fission fragment", then that would've been the answer. the only nuclei that undergo spontaneous fission are very heavy, and the fission fragmentation process generally results in two roughly equally massive fission fragments.



cheers

Answer 2

A. Alpha



beta and gamma are really penetrating.



Beta is just and electron, you know how light they are, and gamma is just a wave, with no mass... almost.... alpha particles are the same as a helium nuclei, which is much heavier than an electron, so the answer is A. Hope that helped =D

Answer 3

alpha is the largest particle of radiation mentioned in this question.