Write the nuclear reaction of the beta decay of the isotope of cobalt with a mass number of 60.

Beta decay of a nucleus is the formation of an electron and a new atom. An electron has a negative (-1) charge and has no mass. As a result of beta decay, an atom is formed with almost the same mass and the charge of the nucleus is greater by 1. Therefore, if 6027Co undergoes decay, the result is an element with a charge of 27 + 1 = 28.

According to the periodic table, there is only one element that can have a charge of 28, this element is nickel (denoted by Ni). Therefore, you can write down the reaction:

⁶⁰₂₇Co → ⁶⁰₂₈Ni + ⁰_-1e.