Asked by kelvin calin

Mimi makes a table about the two types of beta decay.

A 5 column table with 2 rows. The first column is labeled type of decay with entries beta plus and beta minus. The second column is labeled particle released with entries positron and electron. The third column is labeled change to nucleus with entries proton changes to neutron and neutron changes to proton. The fourth column is labeled change to mass number with entries no change and decrease by 1. The last column is labeled change to atomic number has entries decrease by 1 and increase by 1.

What error did Mimi make?

No change in mass number occurs in beta minus decay.
The changes to atomic number are reversed.
A proton is released in beta plus decay.
The changes to the nucleus are reversed.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
No change in mass number occurs in beta minus decay.

Explanation: In both beta-plus and beta-minus decay a nucleon changes type (proton ↔ neutron) but the total number of nucleons (mass number A) stays the same. Beta−: neutron → proton so A unchanged, atomic number Z increases by 1.