An isotope with Z = 34 is above the band of stability in a graph of the number of neutrons versus the number of protons. This nuclide decays by

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

An isotope above the band of stability has too many neutrons and may undergo beta decay to reduce the neutron-to-proton ratio. Alpha decay involves emission of a helium nucleus, gamma decay involves emission of a gamma ray photon, and electron capture is more likely to occur for isotopes below the band of stability that have too few neutrons. Therefore, beta decay by emission of an electron is the best choice for this scenario.

An Isotope with Z = 34 Is Above the Band