Question

Sodium-24, a radioactive isotope used medically in blood studies, decays by beta decay and has a half-life of 15.0 hours. What is the product of the radioactive decay of Na-24?

• A. F-20
• B. Ne-24
• C. Ne-23
• D. Na-23
• E. Mg-24

Answer 1

The correct option is E Mg-24

If a parent radioactive nucleide undergoes a Beta decay, the daughter nucleus has the same mass number, but its atomic number increases by one unit. Atomic number of Sodium is $11$, thus in the periodic table, its next neighbor is Magnesium, whose atomic number is $12$. Thus Option E or $Mg-24$ is the correct answer.

$Na-24$ $\to$$Mg-24$$+$ ${}_{-1}^{0}e$.