Nuclear equations show single alpha and beta decay.
Symbols
The nucleusThe central part of an atom. It contains protons and neutrons, and has most of the mass of the atom. The plural of nucleus is nuclei. of an atom can be represented as
\(_{Z}^{A}\textrm{X}\)
A is the atomic mass (number of protonSubatomic particle with a positive charge and a relative mass of 1. The relative charge of a proton is +1. + neutronUncharged subatomic particle, with a mass of 1 relative to a proton. The relative charge of a neutron is 0.)
Z is the atomic number (number of protons)
X is the chemical symbol (as shown in the periodic tableA tabular representation of all known elements in order based on atomic number, eg all the noble gases are found on the right of the periodic table.)
Alpha decay
Two protons and two neutrons are lost from a nucleus when it emits an alpha particle. This means that:
the atomic mass number decreases by 4
the atomic number decreases by 2
A new element is formed that is two places to the left in the periodic table than the original element.
For example, radon decays into polonium when it emits an alpha particle. Here is the equation for that radioactive decay.
In beta decay, a neutron changes into a proton plus an electronSubatomic particle, with a negative charge and a negligible mass relative to protons and neutrons.. The proton stays in the nucleus. The electron leaves the atom with high energy as a beta particle.
The nucleus has one more proton and one less neutron when it emits a beta particle. This means that:
the atomic mass number stays the same
the atomic number increases by 1
For example, carbon-14 is a radioactive isotopeAtoms of an element with the same number of protons and electrons but different numbers of neutrons. of carbon. Here is the equation for the beta decay of carbon-14 into nitrogen.