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Decay Series

OCR A-level PhysicsRadioactivityLesson 21 of 25

Many radioactive decays results in the formation of isotopes which are themselves radioactive and decay further. When a radioactive isotope decays its daughter nucleus may itself be unstable and decays into an α or β- or β+ particle depending on where it is relative to the stability belt. The series of decays can be represented on a decay graph.

Diagram

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Key terms in this lesson

isotope
An atom of the same element, with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.

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