Using the periodic table and your knowledge of atomic structure. compare the number of electrons in a carbon-12 and carbon-14

Number of electrons will be the same for C-12 and C-14 i.e. 6 electrons

Explanation:

For a given element:

Atomic number (Z) = number of protons = number of electrons (1)

Atomic mass (A) = number of protons + number of neutrons (2)

Carbon belongs to group 14 in the periodic table with an atomic number of 6. Carbon-12 and Carbon-14 are two isotopes of carbon with atomic mass 12 and 14 respectively

For carbon-12: Z = 6 and A = 12

Therefore based on equations 1 and 2

Protons = 6

Electrons = 6

Neutrons = 12 - 6 = 6

For carbon-14: Z = 6 and A = 14

Protons = 6

Electrons = 6

Neutrons = 14 - 6 =8

Therefore, the number of electrons remain the same for C-12 and C-14. They however differ in the number of neutrons

radioactive decay occurs in unstable atomic nuclei – that is, ones that don't have enough binding energy to hold

the nucleus together due to an excess of either protons or neutrons.