Bromine-74 ( ) can

PHYSICS · Subjective · CBSE · Physics · Nuclei · Nuclei

Problem

Bromine-74 (

^{74}_{35}\text{Br}

) can, in principle, undergo beta minus decay, whereas its isobar selenium-74 (

^{74}_{34}\text{Se}

) can undergo beta plus decay. (i) Write the nuclear equation for the beta minus decay of

^{74}_{35}\text{Br}

, including all emitted particles. (ii) Write the nuclear equation for the beta plus decay of

^{74}_{34}\text{Se}

, including all emitted particles. (iii) For each decay, state explicitly how the values of

Z

A

, and the neutron number

N

change. (iv) Show, with the help of suitable reasoning based on your equations in parts (i) and (ii), that a successive beta minus decay of

^{74}_{35}\text{Br}

followed immediately by a beta plus decay of the daughter nucleus brings the atomic number back to its original value.