Radioactive decay: Scientists use the half-life formula to describe the decay process of radioactive isotopes.It helps determine the rate of decay and predict how much of a substance will remain ...

^{4}\textrm{He}\) When a radioactive atom emits an alpha particle the mass number decreases by four and the atomic number drops by two. Here is the equation for the alpha decay of radon-219 into ...

Alpha decay causes the mass number of the nucleus ... on both sides of the equation. An unstable nucleus can emit a fast-moving electron called a beta (β) particle, to become more stable.

Certain isotopes are unstable and undergo a process of radioactive decay, slowly and steadily transforming, molecule by molecule, into a different isotope. This rate of decay is constant for a ...

and sugar cubes to simulate the radioactive decay of different isotopes. A radioactive isotope's nucleus is unstable and spontaneously decays, giving off radiation and changing into a different ...