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    Question

    The emission of a beta-minus particle from a nucleus

    results in:
    A Increase in mass number by 1 Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    B Decrease in atomic number by 1 Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    C No change in mass number Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    D Decrease in neutron number Correct Answer Incorrect Answer

    Solution

    In beta-minus (β⁻) decay, a neutron inside the nucleus is converted into a proton, and a beta particle (electron) is emitted. Since a neutron is simply replaced by a proton, the mass number remains unchanged, though the atomic number increases by 1. This transformation preserves the total number of nucleons.

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