Question
Explain why the overall charge of the nucleus is increased by +1 during the decay process.
Final Answer
A neutron converts to a proton in the nucleus, along with an emission of an electron.
Solution video
OpenStax College Physics for AP® Courses, Chapter 31, Problem 7 (Test Prep for AP® Courses)
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Video Transcript
This is College Physics Answers with Shaun Dychko. During the β-decay process, a neutron turns into a proton in the nucleus and the electron is emitted, it's also called a β-particle but the additional plus 1 charge in the nucleus is resulting from the fact the the neutron turned into a proton.