Thur 8 October

Structure of the atom – Copy and complete

the table
Sub atomic Particle Relative Charge Relative Mass Location In atom
Behaviour in electric and magnetic fields
• Copy diagram on pg 5 Susan Maraj

• Protons and electrons are deflected in electric and magnetic fields,

• in opposite directions, protons to negative pole, electrons to positive
pole due to opposite charges
• electrons to a greater extent due to smaller mass
• Neutrons unaffected due to no charge
Important definitions
• Take note:
• Atomic number
• Mass number/ Nucleon number
• Relative atomic mass
• Isotopes
• Relative isotopic mass
Radioactivity – What is it?
• In the nucleus of an atom, nucleons experience an attractive force even as protons repel each
other

• As #p increases, the increased repulsion of protons means an increasing neutron : proton ratio is
needed to keep the nucleus stable

• If #p > 84, nuclei are unstable even with a high neutron number

• Radioactivity enables a nucleus to become more stable by ejecting protons, neutrons electrons
and emitting energy

• Many atoms are radioactive – called radisotopes

• https://www.arpansa.gov.au/understanding-radiation/what-is-radiation/ionising-
radiation/radioactivity
Measuring Radioactivity

• The amount of radioactivity is measured by determining how many

radioactive atoms decay every second. Radioactive atoms may be
giving off alpha particles, beta particles, and/or gamma rays.

• Radioactivity is measured in Becquerel (Bq) or the Curie (Ci)

• Geiger counters are commonly used to measure radioactivity

Radioactivity
Types of emissions
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc9xfUnrTxg

Half – life
• This is the time taken for a radioactive material to decay to 50% of its
original quantity
• https://javalab.org/en/half_life_period_en/
 Result of radioactive decay
Radiation Nature Effect on atom Note
Alpha He nucleus A-4, Z - 2 Alpha decay occurs because the nucleus of a radioisotope has too
Positive many protons. A nucleus with too many protons causes repulsion
charge, heavy between these like charges. To reduce this repulsion, the nucleus
emits an α particle. Examples of this can be seen in the decay of
americium (Am) to neptunium (Np).
Example nuclear equation:

Beta Electron A, Z + 1 In radioactive nuclei with too many neutrons, a neutron can be
converted into an electron, called beta particle and a proton in the
decaying nucleus. The beta particle is released.
Gamma Radiation Some decay reactions release energy as electromagnetic waves
called gamma rays. Gamma radiation has no mass or charge. Gamma
decay reactions occur if the energy of the radioisotope’s nucleus is
too high, and the resulting atomic number and atomic mass remain
unchanged during the course of the reaction.
Penetrating Power of Radiation
Speed Charge Relative Mass Penetrating Power Ionising Range
Power in air

Alpha 10% light +2 4 Skin, Paper High < 5 cm

speed
Beta 90% light -1 5.5x10-4 Thin sheet ( 3 mm) of Low 1m
speed Al foil
Gamma Speed of 0 0 10 cm thick Lead Very Low > 1 km
light block/ several m of
Concrete

Ionising radiation- energy produced from natural or artificial sources. It has more energy than non-ionising
radiation and can cause chemical changes by breaking chemical bonds. This effect can cause damage to
living tissue.
 Nuclear
equations
Study Guide
 Nuclear
equations

• https://www.bbc.co
.uk/bitesize/guides/
zxbnh39/revision/4
Radioactivity
• Electron capture – the nucleus captures an electron from the atom, a
proton is transformed into a neutron so nuclear charge decreases by
1. Atomic mass is unchanged.
• There are two types of nuclear reactions:-
• Fusion: Two light nuclei combine to form a heavier, more stable
nucleus
• Fission: A heavy nucleus splits into two nuclei with smaller mass
numbers.
• Both processes are accompanied by the release of vast quantities of
E. (Fusion> Fission)
Band of Stability
• Nuclear Stability is a concept that helps to identify the stability of an
isotope. The two main factors that determine nuclear stability are the
neutron/proton ratio and the total number of nucleons in the nucleus.

• The principal factor for determining whether a nucleus is stable is

the neutron to proton ratio. Elements with (Z<20) are lighter and these
elements' nuclei and have a ratio of 1:1 and prefer to have the same
amount of protons and neutrons.
Band of Stability
• Elements that have atomic numbers from 20 to 83 are heavy
elements, therefore the ratio is different. The ratio is 1.5:1, the reason
for this difference is because of the repulsive force between protons:
the stronger the repulsion force, the more neutrons are needed to
stabilize the nuclei.
Band of stability
• Isotope Stability

• The graph of stable elements is commonly referred to as the Band (or Belt) of Stability.
The graph consists of a y-axis labeled neutrons and an x-axis labeled protons.

• At the higher end (upper right) of the band of stability lies the radionuclides that decay
via alpha decay, below is positron emission or electron capture, above is beta emissions
and elements beyond the atomic number of 83 are only unstable radioactive elements.
Stable nuclei with atomic numbers up to about 20 have an neutron:proton ratio of about
1:1 (solid line).
Band of
stability
Band of stability
• The belt of stability makes it is easy to determine where the alpha decay,
beta decay, and positron emission or electron capture occurs.

• Alpha α Decay: Alpha decay is located at the top of the plotted line,
because the alpha decay decreases the mass number of the element to
keep the isotope stable. This is accomplished by emitting an alpha particle,
which is just a helium (He) nucleus. In this decay pathway, the unstable
isotope's proton number PP is decreased by 2 and its neutron (N) number
is decreased by 2. The means that the nucleon number A decreases by 4
Band of stability
• Beta β−Decay: Beta decay accepts protons so it changes the amount of
protons and neutrons. the number of protons increase by 1 and the
neutron number decreases by 1. This pathway occurs in unstable nuclides
that have too many neutrons lie above the band of stability (blue isotopes
in Figure 11).
• Positron β+Decay: Positron emission and electron capture is when the
isotope gains more neutrons. Positron emission and electron capture are
below the band of stability because the ratio of the isotope has more
protons than neutrons, think of it as there are too few protons for the
amount of neutrons and that is why it is below the band of stability (yellow
isotopes in Figure 11).
• As with all decay pathways, if the daughter nuclides are not on the Belt,
then subsequent decay pathways will occur until the daughter nuclei are
on the Belt.
Resources
• https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_C
hemistry_Textbook_Maps/Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Th
eoretical_Chemistry)/Nuclear_Chemistry/Nuclear_Energetics_and_St
ability/Nuclear_Magic_Numbers