• There are four reasons why a nucleus might become unstable, and these determine which decay mode will occur
• Too many neutrons
  • Decays through?beta-minus (β-) emission
  • One of the?neutrons?in the nucleus changes into a?proton?and a β-?particle (an electron) and antineutrino is released
  • The nucleon number is constant
    • The neutron number (N) decreases by 1
    • The proton number (Z) increases by 1

     

  • The general decay equation for β-?emission is:

   

• Too many protons
  • Decays through?beta-plus (β+) emission?or?electron capture
  • In beta-plus decay, a?proton?changes into a?neutron?and a β+?particle (a positron) and neutrino are released
  • In electron capture, an orbiting electron is taken in by the nucleus and combined with a proton causing the formation of a neutron and neutrino
  • In both types of decay, the nucleon number stays constant
    • The neutron number (N) increases by 1
    • The proton number (Z) decreases by 1

     

  • The general decay equation for β+?emission is:

   

• • The equation for electron capture is:

• Too many nucleons
  • Decays through?alpha (α) emission
  • An α particle is a helium nucleus
  • The nucleon number decreases by 4 and the proton number decreases by 2
    • The neutron number (N) decreases by 2
    • The proton number (Z) decreases by 2

     

  • The general decay equation for α emission is:

   

• Too much energy
  • Decays through?gamma (γ) emission
  • A gamma particle is a high-energy electromagnetic radiation
  • This usually occurs after a different type of decay, such as alpha or beta decay
  • This is because the nucleus becomes excited and has excess energy

   

• In summary, alpha decay, beta decay and electron capture can be represented on an N–Z graph as follows:

Part (a)Step 1: Write down the general equation of alpha decayStep 2: Write down the decay equation of plutonium into uraniumStep 3: Write down the decay equation of uranium into thorium

Part (b)

• Plutonium,?239Pu
  • Number of neutrons: 239 – 94 = 145
  • Neutron-nucleon ratio: 145 / 239 = 0.607

   

• Uranium,?235U
  • Number of neutrons:?235 – 92 = 143
  • Neutron-nucleon ratio: 143 / 235 = 0.609

   

• Thorium,?231Th
  • Number of neutrons:?231 – 90 = 141
  • Neutron-nucleon ratio: 141 / 231 = 0.610

   

• Thorium-231 is neutron-rich?compared?to uranium-235 and plutonium-239
• Therefore, it must be a β–?emitter

Part (c)

• The key features to draw on an N–Z graph are:
  • Values for neutron number (N) on the vertical axis
  • Values for proton number (Z) on the horizontal axis
  • Labels for the isotopes eg.?239Pu,?235U,?231Th
  • Arrows showing the direction of the decay
  • Labels for the type of emission eg. α, β–