{"id":90168,"date":"2025-06-01T10:22:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T10:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/?p=90168"},"modified":"2025-06-01T10:22:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T10:22:10","slug":"the-mass-number-of-an-element-is-not-changed-when-it-emits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-mass-number-of-an-element-is-not-changed-when-it-emits\/","title":{"rendered":"The mass number of an element is NOT changed when it emits"},"content":{"rendered":"

The mass number of an element is NOT changed when it emits<\/p>\n

[amp_mcq option1=”Alpha and Beta radiations only” option2=”Alpha and Gamma radiations only” option3=”Beta and Gamma radiations only” option4=”Alpha, Beta and Gamma radiations” correct=”option3″]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
This question was previously asked in<\/div>\n
UPSC CAPF – 2017<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Download PDF<\/a>Attempt Online<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nThe mass number (A) of an element is the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus.
\n– Alpha (\u03b1) decay: Emits a \u2074\u2082He nucleus. The mass number decreases by 4.
\n– Beta (\u03b2) decay (\u03b2\u207b or \u03b2\u207a or electron capture): In \u03b2\u207b decay, a neutron turns into a proton (A remains same, Z increases by 1). In \u03b2\u207a decay, a proton turns into a neutron (A remains same, Z decreases by 1). In electron capture, a proton captures an electron to become a neutron (A remains same, Z decreases by 1). In all Beta decay processes, the mass number does NOT change.
\n– Gamma (\u03b3) decay: Emits a high-energy photon. This occurs when a nucleus transitions from a higher energy state to a lower energy state. Neither the atomic number (Z) nor the mass number (A) changes during gamma decay.
\nTherefore, the mass number is NOT changed when Beta and Gamma radiations are emitted.
\n<\/section>\n
\nAlpha decay changes both atomic number and mass number. Beta and Gamma decay do not change the mass number.
\n<\/section>\n
\nRadioactive decay processes result in the transformation of one atomic nucleus into another or into a lower energy state. The type of decay determines how the atomic number and mass number of the nucleus change.
\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The mass number of an element is NOT changed when it emits [amp_mcq option1=”Alpha and Beta radiations only” option2=”Alpha and Gamma radiations only” option3=”Beta and Gamma radiations only” option4=”Alpha, Beta and Gamma radiations” correct=”option3″] This question was previously asked in UPSC CAPF – 2017 Download PDFAttempt Online The mass number (A) of an element is … <\/p>\n

Detailed SolutionThe mass number of an element is NOT changed when it emits<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1085],"tags":[1101,1203,1128],"class_list":["post-90168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-upsc-capf","tag-1101","tag-nuclear-physics","tag-physics","no-featured-image-padding"],"yoast_head":"\nThe mass number of an element is NOT changed when it emits<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The mass number (A) of an element is the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. - Alpha (\u03b1) decay: Emits a \u2074\u2082He nucleus. The mass number decreases by 4. - Beta (\u03b2) decay (\u03b2\u207b or \u03b2\u207a or electron capture): In \u03b2\u207b decay, a neutron turns into a proton (A remains same, Z increases by 1). In \u03b2\u207a decay, a proton turns into a neutron (A remains same, Z decreases by 1). In electron capture, a proton captures an electron to become a neutron (A remains same, Z decreases by 1). In all Beta decay processes, the mass number does NOT change. - Gamma (\u03b3) decay: Emits a high-energy photon. This occurs when a nucleus transitions from a higher energy state to a lower energy state. Neither the atomic number (Z) nor the mass number (A) changes during gamma decay. Therefore, the mass number is NOT changed when Beta and Gamma radiations are emitted. Alpha decay changes both atomic number and mass number. Beta and Gamma decay do not change the mass number.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-mass-number-of-an-element-is-not-changed-when-it-emits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The mass number of an element is NOT changed when it emits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The mass number (A) of an element is the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. - Alpha (\u03b1) decay: Emits a \u2074\u2082He nucleus. The mass number decreases by 4. - Beta (\u03b2) decay (\u03b2\u207b or \u03b2\u207a or electron capture): In \u03b2\u207b decay, a neutron turns into a proton (A remains same, Z increases by 1). In \u03b2\u207a decay, a proton turns into a neutron (A remains same, Z decreases by 1). In electron capture, a proton captures an electron to become a neutron (A remains same, Z decreases by 1). In all Beta decay processes, the mass number does NOT change. - Gamma (\u03b3) decay: Emits a high-energy photon. This occurs when a nucleus transitions from a higher energy state to a lower energy state. Neither the atomic number (Z) nor the mass number (A) changes during gamma decay. Therefore, the mass number is NOT changed when Beta and Gamma radiations are emitted. Alpha decay changes both atomic number and mass number. Beta and Gamma decay do not change the mass number.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-mass-number-of-an-element-is-not-changed-when-it-emits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MCQ and Quiz for Exams\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-01T10:22:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rawan239\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rawan239\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The mass number of an element is NOT changed when it emits","description":"The mass number (A) of an element is the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. - Alpha (\u03b1) decay: Emits a \u2074\u2082He nucleus. The mass number decreases by 4. - Beta (\u03b2) decay (\u03b2\u207b or \u03b2\u207a or electron capture): In \u03b2\u207b decay, a neutron turns into a proton (A remains same, Z increases by 1). In \u03b2\u207a decay, a proton turns into a neutron (A remains same, Z decreases by 1). In electron capture, a proton captures an electron to become a neutron (A remains same, Z decreases by 1). In all Beta decay processes, the mass number does NOT change. - Gamma (\u03b3) decay: Emits a high-energy photon. This occurs when a nucleus transitions from a higher energy state to a lower energy state. Neither the atomic number (Z) nor the mass number (A) changes during gamma decay. Therefore, the mass number is NOT changed when Beta and Gamma radiations are emitted. Alpha decay changes both atomic number and mass number. Beta and Gamma decay do not change the mass number.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-mass-number-of-an-element-is-not-changed-when-it-emits\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The mass number of an element is NOT changed when it emits","og_description":"The mass number (A) of an element is the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. - Alpha (\u03b1) decay: Emits a \u2074\u2082He nucleus. The mass number decreases by 4. - Beta (\u03b2) decay (\u03b2\u207b or \u03b2\u207a or electron capture): In \u03b2\u207b decay, a neutron turns into a proton (A remains same, Z increases by 1). In \u03b2\u207a decay, a proton turns into a neutron (A remains same, Z decreases by 1). In electron capture, a proton captures an electron to become a neutron (A remains same, Z decreases by 1). In all Beta decay processes, the mass number does NOT change. - Gamma (\u03b3) decay: Emits a high-energy photon. This occurs when a nucleus transitions from a higher energy state to a lower energy state. Neither the atomic number (Z) nor the mass number (A) changes during gamma decay. Therefore, the mass number is NOT changed when Beta and Gamma radiations are emitted. Alpha decay changes both atomic number and mass number. Beta and Gamma decay do not change the mass number.","og_url":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-mass-number-of-an-element-is-not-changed-when-it-emits\/","og_site_name":"MCQ and Quiz for Exams","article_published_time":"2025-06-01T10:22:10+00:00","author":"rawan239","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"rawan239","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-mass-number-of-an-element-is-not-changed-when-it-emits\/","url":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-mass-number-of-an-element-is-not-changed-when-it-emits\/","name":"The mass number of an element is NOT changed when it emits","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-06-01T10:22:10+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-01T10:22:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#\/schema\/person\/5807dafeb27d2ec82344d6cbd6c3d209"},"description":"The mass number (A) of an element is the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. - Alpha (\u03b1) decay: Emits a \u2074\u2082He nucleus. The mass number decreases by 4. - Beta (\u03b2) decay (\u03b2\u207b or \u03b2\u207a or electron capture): In \u03b2\u207b decay, a neutron turns into a proton (A remains same, Z increases by 1). In \u03b2\u207a decay, a proton turns into a neutron (A remains same, Z decreases by 1). In electron capture, a proton captures an electron to become a neutron (A remains same, Z decreases by 1). In all Beta decay processes, the mass number does NOT change. - Gamma (\u03b3) decay: Emits a high-energy photon. This occurs when a nucleus transitions from a higher energy state to a lower energy state. Neither the atomic number (Z) nor the mass number (A) changes during gamma decay. Therefore, the mass number is NOT changed when Beta and Gamma radiations are emitted. Alpha decay changes both atomic number and mass number. Beta and Gamma decay do not change the mass number.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-mass-number-of-an-element-is-not-changed-when-it-emits\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-mass-number-of-an-element-is-not-changed-when-it-emits\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-mass-number-of-an-element-is-not-changed-when-it-emits\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UPSC CAPF","item":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/category\/upsc-capf\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The mass number of an element is NOT changed when it emits"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#website","url":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/","name":"MCQ and Quiz for Exams","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#\/schema\/person\/5807dafeb27d2ec82344d6cbd6c3d209","name":"rawan239","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/761a7274f9cce048fa5b921221e7934820d74514df93ef195a9d22af0c1c9001?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/761a7274f9cce048fa5b921221e7934820d74514df93ef195a9d22af0c1c9001?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"rawan239"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com"],"url":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/author\/rawan239\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}