Question

What is the product of electron capture in silver-106?

Answer 1

Electron capture is when the nucleus takes in an electron, combines it with a proton (due to their opposite charge!), and thus forms a neutron. That is, the electron is captured by the nucleus, which loses a proton and gains a neutron (which is about the same mass as the proton).

Thus, the atomic number decreases by `1`, but the charge and mass number are conserved.

`""_(47)^(106) "Ag" + ""_(-1)^(0) e -> color(blue)(""_(46)^(106) "X")`

What is the product element?