Emission of a beta particle from an atom

Options

A. Increases the number of protons in the atom
B. Increases the number of neutrons in the atom
C. decreases the number of protons in the atom
D. does not change the number of neutrons and protons in the atoms

Answer

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Understanding Beta Particle Emission**:
- Beta decay occurs when an atom has an excess of neutrons compared to protons. This imbalance leads to instability in the nucleus.

2. **Types of Beta Particles**:
- There are two types of beta particles:
- Beta minus (β-) particles, which are electrons emitted from the nucleus.
- Beta plus (β+) particles, which are positrons (the antimatter counterpart of electrons).

3. **Beta Minus Decay Process**:
- In beta minus decay, a neutron in the nucleus is transformed into a proton. This process can be represented as:
\[ n \rightarrow p + e^- + \bar{\nu} \]
- Here, \(n\) is a neutron, \(p\) is a proton, \(e^-\) is the emitted beta particle (electron), and \(\bar{\nu}\) is an antineutrino.

4. **Change in Atomic Structure**:
- When a beta minus particle is emitted, the number of protons in the nucleus increases by one, while the number of neutrons decreases by one.
- For example, if we start with an atom that has 2 protons and 2 neutrons (like Helium), after beta decay, it will have 3 protons and 1 neutron, transforming it into Lithium.

5. **Conclusion**:
- The emission of a beta particle increases the number of protons in the atom while decreasing the number of neutrons. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is that the emission of a beta particle from an atom **increases the number of protons in the atom**.