Physics Nuclear Physics MDCAT 2016
PMDC Verified Question 66 of 98
Emission of \(\gamma\)-rays from radioactive element result into:
A
Increase of charge number by 1
B
No change in the charge number
C
Decrease of mass number by 1
D
Decrease charge number by 1
Tap any option to test your recall and reveal the step-by-step Propolis autopsy.

Propolis Cognitive Error Autopsy

Official Correct Choice:
Option B: No change in the charge number


Concept:

Gamma rays are highly energetic photons of electromagnetic radiation, not physical matter.

Solution:

  • A photon has no rest mass and carries no electrical charge.


  • When a nucleus relaxes from an excited state (\(\text{X}^{*}\)) and emits a gamma ray, it only releases excess energy.


  • Therefore, there is absolutely no change to the number of protons (charge number/atomic number \(Z\)) or total nucleons (mass number \(A\)).


Why other options are incorrect:

Option A describes beta decay. Options C and D describe physically non-standard or alternative decay modes (like positron emission) completely unrelated to pure gamma emission.

Quality & Fidelity Assurance: Every question on BeambePrep is rigorously curated against the official PMDC syllabus with zero filler, zero out-of-syllabus content, and zero typos. When an authentic past paper originally contained a historical mistake or ambiguity from the examining board (such as UHS or NUMS), BeambePrep faithfully reflects the original paper while detailing the nuance and scientific consensus in the autopsy above.

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