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(D) The decay of a particle is governed by the conservation of energy and mass. The rest mass of a free neutron $(m_n \approx 939.57 \ MeV/c^2)$ is gr

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neutron has a larger rest mass than a proton

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(D) The decay of a particle is governed by the conservation of energy and mass. The rest mass of a free neutron $(m_n \approx 939.57 \ MeV/c^2)$ is greater than the rest mass of a free proton $(m_p \approx 938.27 \ MeV/c^2)$.Since the total energy of the system must be conserved,a particle can only decay into lighter particles (plus any necessary leptons to conserve charge and lepton number). Because $m_n > m_p$,a neutron can decay into a proton,an electron,and an antineutrino $(n ightarrow p + e^- + \bar{
u}_e)$.Conversely,a free proton cannot decay into a neutron because it lacks the necessary mass-energy to create the additional mass required for the neutron.

$A$ free neutron decays into a proton,but a free proton does not decay into a neutron. This is because

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