GenChem12 (Nuclear Phenomena) Flashcards
Nuclear decay is a _____ order process
What does that mean?
First
Rate of decay is proportional to how much you have (i.e. twice as much product=twice as much decay). Constant half life.
The amount of energy that is required to break up a given nucleus into its constituent protons and neutrons.
Binding Energy
The equation for converting energy into mass is
E=mc^2
The difference between the mass of the constituent atoms when packed into the nucleus is called the
Mass defect
What lies in the nucleus
Neutrons and Protons
The letter Z represents what part of the nucleus
Atomic Number - aka number of protons
The letter A represents what aspect of the nucleus
Mass number - aka number of protons + neutrons
Different numbers of neutrons in an atom is a
Isotope
A radioactive isotope is reffered to as _____ and they are commonly used in nuclear medicine
Radionuclide
What is the definition of 1 amu
What is the value of 1 amu in kg
One twelfth the mass of a carbon-12 atom
1.66*10^-27 kg
A weighted average of the masses of an element is the
Atomic Weight
This nuclear reaction occurs when small nuclei combine into a larger nucleus. Name an example of where this happens
Fusion
The sun, hydrogen nuclei fuse to make one helium nucleus
A nuclear reaction in which a large nucleus splits into smaller nuclei.
Name one example of when this happens. What type of reaction occurs?
Fission
Uranium-235 absorbing a low energy neutron. It creates a chain reaction
Law stating that the total number of neutrons plus protons remains the same, even if neutrons are converted to protons and vice versa
Nucleon or Baryon Number Conservation
Radioactive decay is what type of nuclear reaction?
Fission
These particles are massive and have a ow penetrate power. Made of 2 neutrons and 2 protons.
Alpha particles.
This type of decay causes the emission of an electron which causes a neutron to decay into a proton.
Beta Decay
Type of decay where a positively charged antielectron is emitted, resulting in a neutron
Beta + decay
Particles that are actually high energy photons
What effect do they have on an atom?
Gamma Particles
They lower the energy without affecting the mass number or atomic number
This occurs when an unstable radionuclide absorbs an inner shell electron and it combines with a proton to form a neutron.
Electron Capture
What is the equation for decay rate?
Δn/Δt = -λn
λ is the decay constant, and n is the number that remain.
What is the equation for exponential decay?
n=(no)e^-λt
What is the equation for the decay constant?
λ= ln2/t(1/2)
