Write the balanced nuclear equation for β− decay of sodium−26. include both the mass numbers and the atomic numbers with each nuclear symbol. use the sup-subscript button in the answer palette to enter these numbers correctly. greek letters can be accessed in the drop-down menu that says -select−.

Β- decay is the emission of an electron by converting a neutron into a proton.

After doing β- decay, the formed daughter nucleus has the same number of mass number as the parent atom but the atomic number has increased by 1 and neutron number has reduced by 1.

If Na²⁶₁₁ (number of neutrons = 26 - 11 = 15) undergoes a β- decay, then produced daughter atom must have 12 protons and 14 neutrons. Hence, the daughter atom should be Mg.

Na²⁶₁₁ → Mg²⁶₁₂ + ₋₁⁰β + energy