Asked by ny

Mercury-203 undergoes beta minus decay.


203
80
Hg →
203
81
Tl + ?

The subatomic particle produced is a(n)
.


203
80
Hg →
203
81
Tl +
0
-1
e

Is this the correct balanced equation?


.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Yes — that is correct. Mercury-203 undergoes beta (β−) decay, producing an electron (a beta particle). The nuclear equation you wrote,

203/80 Hg → 203/81 Tl + 0/−1 e

is balanced (A: 203 = 203 + 0; Z: 80 = 81 + (−1)).

For completeness, β− decay also emits an electron antineutrino, so the full decay can be written as

203/80 Hg → 203/81 Tl + 0/−1 e + 0/0 ν̄_e.