What happens in a radioactive nucleus during beta decay? - Leaving Cert Chemistry - Question iii - 2021

During beta decay, a neutron in the nucleus of a radioactive atom is transformed into a proton. This can be represented by the nuclear reaction:

ightarrow p + e^- + ar{ u} $$ where: - $n$ represents the neutron, - $p$ represents the proton, - $e^-$ is the emitted beta particle (electron), - $\bar{ u}$ is an emitted antineutrino. This transformation causes the atomic number of the element to increase by one, while its mass number remains unchanged. Consequently, this results in the emission of an electron, which is referred to as beta radiation. Additionally, an alternative process can occur wherein a proton changes into a positron (the antimatter counterpart of an electron) and a neutron, represented as: $$ p ightarrow n + e^+ + u $$ In both scenarios, beta decay is integral in the process of stabilizing an unstable nucleus.