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Carbon-14 undergoes nuclear decay - Leaving Cert Physics - Question (k) - 2021
Question (k)
Carbon-14 undergoes nuclear decay. The daughter nucleus is nitrogen-14. Write a nuclear equation for this decay.
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Carbon-14 undergoes nuclear decay - Leaving Cert Physics - Question (k) - 2021
Step 1
Write a nuclear equation for this decay.
Answer
To represent the nuclear decay of Carbon-14 to Nitrogen-14, we can write the equation as:
In this equation:
- is the Carbon-14 nucleus, which has 6 protons and a mass number of 14.
- is the daughter nucleus, Nitrogen-14, which has 7 protons and a mass number of 14.
- The particle represents the beta decay (an electron) emitted during this process.