Radioactive Decay Explained in 7 Minutes | MCAT

Today we cover the high yield MCAT topic of radioactive decay and simplify it to only what you need to know for the exam. MAIN TAKEAWAY: treat the decay process as if it were a chemical equation! That way you only need to know what an alpha particle, beta particle (electron), and positron are.

An alpha particle is really, at the end of the day, a helium nucleus. A beta particle is really an electron, and a positron, is, well, a positron. A gamma particle is a light ray in the gamma wavelength (very short wavelength, high frequency)—if you have no clue what I'm talking about, look up the electromagnetic spectrum, another high yield MCAT topic.

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Alpha Decay
Beta Decay (Beta- Decay)
Positron Emission (aka Beta+ Decay)
Electron Capture
Gamma Decay
Radioactive Decay Explained in 7 Minutes | MCAT
Radioactive Decay Explained in 7 Minutes | MCAT
Radioactive Decay Explained in 7 Minutes | MCAT

[lauraashley]

A trick I use:
write the decays in alphabetical order, excluding gamma since "nothing happens"
Alpha, Beta, EC, PE
then write the word SASS underneath them. now you know to subtract from alpha, add for beta, subtract for electron capture and subtract for positron emission. then you just have to remember it's 4/2 for alpha and 1 is either added or subtracted for everything else :)

[medcatmcat]

I make videos on demand! Let me know what video you'd like to see next.

[rykermcintyre]

So much simpler than how they explain it in class!

[gse]

This was extremely helpful! Thank you so much and please keep it up!

[hellovillanelle]

on my journey watching all of your videos and I am blessed you are wonderful ty for making these

[SarahVoon]

Thank you so much!! This video was straightforward, easy to understand, and extremely helpful!!

[clairem]

Concise and simple explanation. This is much appreciated, thank you!

[jigglymonkey]

ok so how does losing an electron increase the number of protons for beta decay... wouldn't only the charge increase?