Topic Summaries

Nuclear equations

GCSE > Physics > OCR B > GCSE Physics Topic Summaries > Radiation > Nuclear equations
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Science skills: Measuring results

  • An alpha particle can be denoted as \(^4_2\text{He}\).
    • Alpha decay will cause the atomic number of a nucleus to decrease by 2 and its mass number to decrease by 4. For example, \(^{235}_{92}\text{U}\longrightarrow ^{231}_{90}\text{Th} +^4_2\text{He}\)
  • A beta particle can be denoted as \(^0_{-1}e\).
    • Beta decay will cause the atomic number of a nucleus to increase by 1 while keeping its mass number the same. For example, \(^{99}_{43}\text{Tc}\longrightarrow ^{99}_{44}\text{Ru}+^0_{-1}e\). 
  • Gamma rays are emitted after alpha or beta decays to carry away excess energy the nucleus has. This does not affect the mass or atomic number of the nucleus.

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