Beta Decay
In beta minus decay, atomic number Z changes by:
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About This Question
- Subject
- physics
- Chapter
- atoms and nuclei
- Topic
- beta decay
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
Increases by 1
In beta-minus (β−) decay, a neutron inside the nucleus is transformed into a proton, an electron (the beta particle), and an antineutrino: n→p+e−+νˉe The resulting nucleus has one more proton than the original, so the atomic number Z increases by 1 (Z→Z+1), while the mass number A remains unchanged.
This hard difficulty physics question is from the chapter atoms and nuclei, covering the topic of beta decay. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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