chapter 39 the atomic nucleus and radioactivity
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Chapter 39 The Atomic Nucleus and Radioactivity. Conceptual Physics Hewitt, 1999 Bloom High School. 39.1 The Atomic Nucleus. Nucleons- particles in the nucleus of an atom Neutrons (n 0 ) & Protons (p + ) Almost equal masses Neutrons are “glue” in a nucleus - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Chapter 39The Atomic Nucleus and Radioactivity
Conceptual PhysicsHewitt, 1999
Bloom High School
39.1 The Atomic Nucleus
• Nucleons- particles in the nucleus of an atom– Neutrons (n0) & Protons (p+)– Almost equal masses– Neutrons are “glue” in a nucleus
• Electrical forces- like repels like– p+ repel other p+ in the nucleus– Acts over a distance– Inverse-square law
Neutrons & Nuclear Strong Forces
• Nuclear Strong force– Acts between nucleons– Only acts in close proximity
• Neutron- nucleon that is unstable when alone– More neutrons are needed
for more protons
39.2 Radioactive Decay
• Alpha (a) particle- helium nucleus– 2p+ with 2n0 ejected
from nucleus– Positively charged
particle
• Gamma (g) ray- electromagnetic radiation
Beta emissions
• b- particle- electron (e-)– With extra n0’s, 1n0 is
transformed into 1p+ + 1e-
• Conservation of charges
– (-) charged particle
• b+ particle- positron (e+)– With extra p+’s, 1p+ is
transformed into 1n0 + 1e+
• Conservation of charges
– (+) charged particle
39.3 Radiation Penetrating Power• g ray- penetrate the most
– No charge or mass to slow them down
– Need a very high density substance to block them
• b particle- penetrates slightly– Loses energy with a small
number of collisions– Thin sheets of metal can block
them
• a particle- penetrates the least– Relatively slow and heavy– Paper and skin can stop them
39.4 Radioactive Isotopes
• Atomic number- equal to the number of p+
– Carbon, 12p+
• Atomic mass number- equal to the number of nucleons– Carbon-24 (99% of all carbon)– Hydrogen-1
• Deuterium-2 (1n0 & 1p+) stable• Tritium- 3 (2n0 & 1p+) radioactive
Ions vs. Isotopes
• Ion- charged particle– Gain or loss of an e- through chemical reaction– Neutral atom has equal numbers of p+ and e-
• Isotope- gain or loss of n0 through nuclear reaction– Number of p+ must be constant– Isotope number (upper number) is (n0 + p+)• 235U (U-235) is 92p+ + 143n0
39.5 Radioactive Half-Life
• Half-Life- amount of time for half of the substance to change or decay– If half-life is 1000 years, 50% remains at 1000 years– At 2000 years, ½ of ½ remains (25% or ½2)– At 4000 years, ½ of ½ of ½ remains (12.5% or ½3)
39.6 Natural Transmutation of Elements
• Transmutation- changing one element into another• Radioactive Decay- can change to another element– a-decay- loss of 2p+
• Atomic number decreases by 2• Atomic mass decreases by 4• 238U 234Th + 4He
– b--decay- gain of 1p +
• Atomic number increases by 1• Atomic mass unchanged• 234Th 234Pa + 0e-
– g-decay- no gain or loss of p +
• No change in atomic number or mass• 60Co 60Co + 0g
Calculating a-decay Reactions
• a-decay- loss of 2p+
– Atomic number decreases by 2– Atomic mass decreases by 4– The total mass and atomic number before must equal
the total mass and atomic number after the reaction
• 234Pa __ + 4He– Number of nucleons must be equal• 234=x + 4
– Number of p+ must be equal• 91=Z + 2
– Missing element must be 230Ac
Calculating b--decay Reactions
• b--decay- gain of 1p +
– Atomic number increases by 1– Atomic mass unchanged– The total mass and atomic number before must equal
the total mass and atomic number after the reaction
• 216Po __ + 0e-
– Number of nucleons must be equal• 216=x + 0
– Number of p+ must be equal• 84=Z + -1
– Missing element must be 216At
Calculating g-decay Reactions
• g-decay- no gain or loss of p +
– No change in atomic number or mass– The total mass and atomic number before must equal
the total mass and atomic number after the reaction
• 60Co __ + 0g– Number of nucleons must be equal• 60=x + 0
– Number of p+ must be equal• 27=Z + 0
– Missing element must be 60Co
39.7 Artificial Transmutation of Elements
• Elements can be bombarded to change into other elements– 14N + 4He 17O + 1H
• Transuranic element- elements after Uranium– Half-life’s are relatively short, so they are not found in
nature
39.8 Carbon Dating
• C-12 very stable (99% of carbon is C-12)• C-14 radioactive– Found in living tissue and is constantly replaced– Ratio of C-12 to C-14 fixed in living tissue– In dead tissue, C-14 is not replaced and decreases
over time– Not found in non-living tissue (metals, rocks, etc.)
39.9 Uranium Dating
• Uranium- decays in a predictable pattern– Lead is a decay
product, so is found in all uranium samples
39.10 Radioactive Tracers
• Radioactive tracer- radioactive isotope used to follow a path
• Used in agriculture to determine path of fertilizer and water
• Used in medicine to determine metabolic pathway of medicine or blood
39.11 Radiation and You
• Radiation naturally occurs everywhere– Underground, it’s
the cause of warmth
• Radiation more strong at high altitudes because there is less atmospheric shielding from cosmic radiation
Lab 97: Nuclear Marbles
• Groups of 4– 10 marbles– 3 metersticks
• Computed diameter– P=2N(R+r)/L– P=H/T– Replace (R+r) with “d,” combine formulae and solve for d
• Procedure Step 1– 200 trials– DON’T AIM for the marbles, aim for 1cm, then 2cm, etc.
and go back and forth until you have 200 trials
Lab 98: Half-Life
• Groups of 4– 50 pennies
• Procedure Step 1– Keep the “heads” pennies out of the box!
• Data Table A– Number of Pennies removed it the TOTAL removed, not
just from that trial
• Analysis 1: Percent error– (computed-measured)/measured x 100 = %