Hello Dr.Bob. Could you check my work please? I'm not sure if I'm right in how I solved this problem.
Which of the following nuclides are most likely to decay via beta decay?
A) I-131 B) Pb-206 C) F-18 D) Zr-90 E) Ar-40
I know that nuclides undergo beta decay when they are too heavy to be stable. Out of the nuclides listed, three can be considered heavy. These are: Pb-206 which has atomic mass of 207.2, F-18 with atomic mass of 19 and Zr-90 with atomic mass of 91.22. Would it be enough for a question like this to reason that since the difference between the atomic numbers is the greatest for Zr-90, then it is the nuclide which is more likely to decay? Or do I need to take the valley of stability into consideration? The reason I ask about the valley of stability is because a question like this will likely be on the exam and I don't believe we need to memorize the table of stability.
Thank you so much for your help.
2 answers
Which of the following nuclides are most likely to decay via beta decay?
a)200 78 Pt b)192 78 Pt c)188 78 Pt
d)196 78 Pt