Beta Decay in Platinum-175

What happens when Platinum-175 emits a beta particle?

a) Gold-175
b) Mercury-175
c) Iradium-175
d) Tungsten-175

Final answer:

Answer:

When Platinum-175, which belongs to the nuclear chemistry field, emits a beta particle, Beta decay occurs, and the element changes from Platinum (atomic number 78) to Gold (atomic number 79).

Explanation:

When Platinum-175 emits a beta particle, it undergoes beta decay. This involves a neutron in Platinum-175 decaying into a proton, with the emission of an electron (which is the beta particle) and an electron antineutrino. In this process, the atomic number increases by one while the mass number (the total number of protons and neutrons) remains the same.

Hence, the atom's identity changes because the number of protons has increased by one. So, if we start with Platinum (atomic number 78), the emission of a beta particle will increase its atomic number to 79, resulting in the element with atomic number 79. This element is Gold, so the correct answer is Gold-175 (option a).

This field lies in the domain of nuclear chemistry, which studies the changes in the nucleus of an atom, including phenomena such as radioactive decay and nuclear reactions.