CorrectThe three main components of a radioactive beam are,, andrays. Of these components,rays contain positively charged particles known asparticles,rays contain negatively charged particles known asparticles, andrays are electromagnetic radiation. Experimental evidence hasshown thatrays are helium nuclei, which are represented as, thatrays are high-energy electrons, represented as, and thatrays arephotons with very high energy and no mass.rays are the most massive among the three. It is evident from the sizes of the components thatrayshave the lowest penetrating power and thatrays possess the highest penetrating power.These characteristics are useful in studying radioactivity phenomena. In the process of natural radioactivity,,, orradiation are spontaneouslyemitted. The process can be calleddecay,decay, ordecay, depending upon the type of emission involved.Balancing Nuclear EquationsBalancing nuclear equations is slightly different than balancing chemical equations. The major difference is that in nuclear reactions we must account for protons,neutrons, and electrons, as well as write out the symbols for various chemical elements. In a nuclear equation, the products and reactants are symbolized aswhereis the chemical symbol for the element,is the mass number, andis the atomic number. There are two main rules to remember when balancingnuclear equations:1.The total of the superscripts (mass numbers,) in the reactants and products must be the same.
