The mass number of an atom undergoing beta decay doesn't change. However the daughter nucleus is a different element than the parent. Explain how this is possible
2 answers
When an element loses an electron (from the nucleus) it is because one of the neutrons becomes a proton and the electron is ejected as a beta particle. The mass number doesn't change because the number of protons + number of neutrons is the same but the number of protons has increased by 1 so a different element has been formed.
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