Question

What happens inside the nucleus that causes the emission of beta particle?

• A. A neutron gets converted into a proton
• B. A proton gets converted into a neutron
• C. An electron is emitted from the nucleus
• D. A particle with 2 protons and 2 neutrons are emitted

Answer 1

The correct option is A

A neutron gets converted into a proton

On emission of a β-particle, the mass number remains the same but the atomic number is increased by one, thus, changing into a nucleus of another element. This is because during beta emission a neutron gets converted into a proton and hence total number of protons and neutrons remains constant i.e., mass number remains.