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Obtain approximately the ratio of the nuclear radii of the gold isotope ¹⁹⁷₇₉Au and the silver isotope ¹⁰⁷₄₇Ag.

Asked in GSEB Board August 2020 · Nuclear radius and density

Answer: (4) 1.23

Step-by-step solution

Given: A₁=197 for gold and A₂=107 for silver.

Idea: R=R₀A^1/3, so the ratio of the radii is the cube root of the ratio of the mass numbers.

(RAu)/(RAg)=((197)/(107))^1/3=(1.84)^1/3.

(1.84)^1/3=1.23.

So the gold nucleus has only about 1.23 times the radius of the silver nucleus, although it holds nearly twice as many nucleons — the cube root flattens the difference.

Why the other options are wrong

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