Question

when carbon - 14 undergoes radioactive beta decay, a neutron turns into a proton and it loses an electron to become__________.
$_{6}^{14}c\to?$
carbon - 12
nitrogen - 14
carbon - 13
nitrogen - 12
question 21
1 pts
germanium - 72 is the product of radioactive beta decay of which atom:
$?\to_{32}^{72}ge$
carbon - 14
zinc - 71
arsenic - 73
gallium - 72

Explanation:

In beta - decay, a neutron in the nucleus of an atom changes into a proton, increasing the atomic number by 1 while the mass number remains the same. For carbon - 14 ($_{6}^{14}C$), with an atomic number of 6 and mass number of 14, after beta - decay, the atomic number becomes 7 (which is nitrogen) and the mass number stays 14. For the second question, in beta - decay the product has an atomic number 1 greater than the parent atom. Germanium has atomic number 32, so the parent atom for its beta - decay has atomic number 31 (gallium).

Answer:

1. B. nitrogen - 14
2. D. Gallium - 72