A program produces nuclear equations from observations of two decay events. The letters J, Q, L and M represent different nuclei.
| event | parent nucleus | daughter nucleus observed | charge of emitted particle | equation produced by the program |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 protons and 21 neutrons | 18 protons and 20 neutrons | -1 | 1738J→1837Q+−11e{}^{38}_{17}\mathrm{J} \rightarrow {}^{37}_{18}\mathrm{Q} + {}^{1}_{-1}\mathrm{e}1738J→1837Q+−11e |
| 2 | 12 protons and 11 neutrons | 11 protons and 12 neutrons | +1 | 1223L→1123M+−10e{}^{23}_{12}\mathrm{L} \rightarrow {}^{23}_{11}\mathrm{M} + {}^{0}_{-1}\mathrm{e}1223L→1123M+−10e |
Explain what happens inside the parent nucleus in each event and why each equation produced by the program must be corrected. Include the corrected equations and show how mass number and charge are conserved.
120 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Physics 6.3 Nuclear equations and decay, covering 6.3.1 Beta-minus and beta-plus decay, 6.3.2 Effects of decay on the nucleus, and 6.3.3 Balancing nuclear equations. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.