David Sang and Graham Jones Solutions for Chapter: Atomic Structure and Particle Physics, Exercise 8: Questions

The isotope thorium-$227$ decays by $\mathrm{\alpha }$-emission. Write down an equation to describe this decay and identify the element that is produced.

Copper-$64$ can decay by either ${\mathrm{\beta }}^{+} \&\hspace{0.17em}{\mathrm{\beta }}^{-}$ emission . Give equations for both processes and identify the resulting elements.

Uranium $238$ decays through a series of $\mathrm{\alpha } \& \mathrm{\beta }$ -decays to eventually form the stable isotope lead- $206$ in what is known as a decay chain.

Determine the number of each type of decay in the decay chain.