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The answer is c., The mass number.

Check step 5 below.

Let's walk through balancing a nuclear equation involving beta decay. We are going to figure out a balanced equation for thorium-234

1. You will need to find the atomic number for thorium (234) and the chemical symbol (Th).

2. We know that this is undergoing beta decay, so one of the products will be decaying.

3. We now need to set up the equation. We are going to use the following

  • Z=the atomic number of the product isotope
  • A=the mass number of the product isotope
  • X-the chemical symbol of the product isotope

4. Let's now set up the equation:

5. We will now figure out the mass number (A) of the product. We will do this as follows:

234=mass number of thorium

0=mass number of beta particle

234=A+0

234=A

6. We will now figure out the atomic number (Z) of the product. We will do this as follows:

90=Z+(-1) (complete this by subtracting -1 to each side of the equation)

90-(-1)=Z+(-1) - (-1)

91=Z

7. So far we have this:

8. Now, we need to figure out the product element (X). We do this by looking for the element that has an atomic number of 91. This is protactinium (Pa). So, the complete balanced equation will look like this:

You have balanced an equation using beta decay.

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