Beta Decay Transforms Neutron to Proton

Steps:

• A β particle is an electron emitted in beta-minus decay from an unstable nucleus.
• A neutron decays into a proton, electron, and antineutrino.
• Proton number increases by 1 as the neutron becomes a proton.
• Nucleon number (protons + neutrons) remains unchanged, with no loss or gain of nucleons.

Why C is correct:

• Beta decay increases proton number by 1 while conserving nucleon number, as the transformation replaces one neutron with one proton without altering total nucleons.

Why the others are wrong:

• A: Proton number increases (+1), not decreases; nucleon number stays the same, not +1.
• B: Proton number changes (+1), not 0; nucleon number unchanged, not -1.
• D: Nucleon number remains 0 (unchanged), not -1.

Final answer: C