Gamma Ray Energy from Decay of Boron

[TheBoy]

Homework Statement

I have to figure how many beta particles are released and how much energy is released as gamma rays in the complete decay of 1000 atoms of (12/5) Boron.

Homework Equations

Mass of one boron atom is 10.811 g. I think we may be able to use E = mc^2 somehow but I'm not sure.

The Attempt at a Solution

The answer the book gives is that 1000 beta particles are released and 88 MeV of energy is released as gamma rays. The first seems obvious because (12/5) boron decays into (12/6) C + an electron. So if you have 1000 atoms you will have 1000 electrons / beta particles. The second I'm not so sure of. How can you calculate the energy released as gamma rays from just this information?

 

[TheBoy]

Never mind, I figured it out :)

There were 1000 initial atoms and 2% of them emit energy in the form of gamma rays at 4.4 MeV.

So 1000 x 0.02 x 4.4 MeV = 88 MeV
Huzzah, huzzah u_u it feels good to solve your own problems.