A physicist studies beta-minus decay in a sample made in a nuclear reactor. The products of one decay are a daughter nucleus with mass number 58 and charge number 26, and an electron written −10e{}^{0}_{-1}\mathrm{e}−10e.
parent nucleus→daughter nucleus+−10e \text{parent nucleus} \rightarrow \text{daughter nucleus} + {}^{0}_{-1}\mathrm{e} parent nucleus→daughter nucleus+−10eThe table shows four possible records for the parent nucleus.
| Record | Mass number | Charge number |
|---|---|---|
| W | 58 | 25 |
| X | 57 | 25 |
| Y | 58 | 27 |
| Z | 57 | 27 |
Which record could be for the parent nucleus?
record W
record Y
record Z
record X
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.