Question

The table below lists information about the radioactive decay of three nuclides. Fill in the missing information. nuclide decay mode daughter nuclide 201 80Hg electron capture 0 X 5 ? 150 Gd 146 (choose one) V Sm 62 10 beta emission B

Answer 1

Electron capture: one electron is captured by nucleus and the electron is merged with proton and is converted to neutron as a result atomic number of the daughter nuclide decreases but mass number remains same.

$^A_ZX\rightarrow ^{\;\;\;A}_{Z-1}Y;\;\;\;\;\;\; Electron\; capture$

Beta emission: one electron is emitted from the atom as a result atomic number increases by one and mass number remains same.

$^A_ZX\rightarrow ^{\;\;\;A}_{Z+1}Y;\;\;\;\;\;\; \beta \; emission$

Alpha emission: a helium atom is emitted from the atom as a result atomic number decreases by 2 and mass number decreases by 4.

$^A_ZX\rightarrow ^{\;\;\;A-4}_{Z-2}Y;\;\;\;\;\;\; \alpha \; particle \; emission$

ANSWER:

201 Hg → 201 Au 79 electron capture

$^{150}_{64}Gd \rightarrow\;\; ^{146}_{62}Sm;\;\;\;\;\;\; \alpha \; particle \; emission$

$^{10}_{4}Be\rightarrow \;\;\; ^{10}_{5}B;\;\;\;\;\;\; \beta \; emission$