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1 C Intro To Nuclear Chemistry

Here is the step-by-step work: 3x107 atoms originally Half-life = 3.83 days In 31 days there are 31/3.83 = 8 half-lives After 8 half-lives there will be (1/2)8 = 1/256 of the original amount 1/256 of 3x107 is 1.2x105 atoms Therefore, the number of radon atoms left after 31 days is 1.2x105 atoms.

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59 views41 pages

1 C Intro To Nuclear Chemistry

Here is the step-by-step work: 3x107 atoms originally Half-life = 3.83 days In 31 days there are 31/3.83 = 8 half-lives After 8 half-lives there will be (1/2)8 = 1/256 of the original amount 1/256 of 3x107 is 1.2x105 atoms Therefore, the number of radon atoms left after 31 days is 1.2x105 atoms.

Uploaded by

Nur Intan Junaedi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Intro to Nuclear Chemistry

Chemistry
Mrs. Coyle

http://www.chem.orst.edu/graduate/pics/Reactor.jpg
How does a nuclear reactor work?

http://www.lanl.gov/science/1663/images/reactor.jpg
How does a small mass contained
in this bomb cause……
• Nuclear
Bomb of
1945
known as
“fat man”

http://www.travisairmuseum.org/assets/images/fatman.jpg
…this huge nuclear explosion?

http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/01200/Graphics/705px-Nuclear_fireball.jpg
Is there radon in your basement?

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Blotter/abc_1radon_ad_070625_ssh.jpg
Notation
Nucleons
• Protons and Neutrons
• The nucleons are bound together by the
strong force.
Isotopes
• Atoms of a given element with:
same #protons
but
different # neutrons
H H H

http://education.jlab.org/glossary/isotope.html
Isotopes of Carbon
Radioactive Isotopes
• Isotopes of certain unstable elements that
spontaneously emit particles and energy
from the nucleus.

• Henri Beckerel 1896 accidentally observed


radioactivity of uranium salts that were
fogging photographic film.

• His associates were Marie and Pierre


Curie.
Marie Curie: born 1867, in Poland
as Maria Sklodowska
• Lived in France
• 1898 discovered the
elements polonium and
radium.

http://www.radiochemistry.org/nuclearmedicine/pioneers/images/mariecurie.jpg
Marie Curie a Pioneer of
Radioactivity
• Winner of 1903
Nobel Prize for
Physics with Henri
Becquerel and her
husband, Pierre
Curie.
• Winner of the sole
1911 Nobel Prize
for Chemistry.
3 Main Types of Radioactive Decay

• Alpha 

• Beta 

• Gamma 
Alpha Decay

Emission of alpha particles  :

• helium nuclei
• two protons and two neutrons
• charge +2e 
• can travel a few inches through air
• can be stopped by a sheet of
paper, clothing.
Alpha Decay

Uranium Thorium
Alpha Decay

http://education.jlab.org/glossary/alphadecay.gif
Beta Decay

• Beta particles : electrons ejected from the


nucleus when neutrons decay
( n -> p+ +- )
• Beta particles have the same charge and
mass as "normal" electrons.
Beta Decay
• Beta particles : electrons ejected from the
nucleus when neutrons decay
n -> p+ +-

• Beta particles have the same charge and


mass as "normal" electrons.

• Can be stopped by aluminum foil or a


block of wood.
Beta Decay
Beta Decay

Thorium Protactinium
Gamma Decay

• Gamma radiation  electromagnetic


energy that is released. 
• Gamma rays are electromagnetic waves.
• They have no mass.
• Gamma radiation has no charge.
– Most Penetrating, can be stopped by 1m thick
concrete or a several cm thick sheet of lead.
Examples of Radioactive Decay
Alpha Decay
Po  Pb + He

Beta Decay p n + e
n  p + e
C  N + e
Gamma Decay
Ni  Ni + 
(excited nucleus)
Which is more penetrating? Why?
Part II

•Nuclear Stability
•Half-Life
Nuclear Stability
• Depends on the neutron to proton ratio.
Band of Stability

Number of Neutrons, (N)

Number of Protons (Z)


What happens to an unstable
nucleus?
• They will undergo decay

• The type of decay depends on the reason


for the instability
What type of decay will happen if
the nucleus contains too many
neutrons?

• Beta Decay
Example:
14 14 0
C  N + e
6 7 -1

In N-14 the ratio of neutrons to protons is 1:1


• Nuclei with atomic number > 83 are
radioactive
Radioactive Half-Life (t1/2 ):
• The time for half of the radioactive nuclei
in a given sample to undergo decay.
Common Radioactive Isotopes

Isotope Half-Life Radiation


Emitted

Carbon-14 5,730 years 

Radon-222 3.8 days 

Uranium-235 7.0 x 108 years 

Uranium-238 4.46 x 109 years 


Radioactive Half-Life
• After one half life there is 1/2 of original
sample left.

• After two half-lives, there will be


1/2 of the 1/2 = 1/4 the original sample.
Graph of Amount of Remaining
Nuclei vs Time
A=Aoe-t

A
Example
You have 100 g of radioactive C-14. The
half-life of C-14 is 5730 years.
• How many grams are left after one half-
life? Answer:50 g
• How many grams are left after two half-
lives?
Problem
A sample of 3x107 Radon atoms are trapped
in a basement that is sealed. The half-life of
Radon is 3.83 days. How many radon atoms
are left after 31 days?

answer:1.2x105 atoms

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