Nuclear Chemistry Flashcards
Arrange the following products of radioactive decay from the most penetrating to the least penetrating.
Alpha Particle, Beta Particle, Gamma Ray
Gamma Ray is the most penetrating, followed by Beta Particle and Alpha Particle. An Alpha particle can be stopped by a piece of paper.
How far a product can penetrate is a sign of how harmful it could be.
Alpha, Beta, and Gamma are Greek Alphabet letters.
What are the three ways that a nucleus can break down that are described in the book.
Alpha Decay- An emission of a positive particle made of two protons and two neutrons.
Beta Decay- An emission of an electron.
Gamma Decay- The emission of a electromagnetic ray.
How can radioactive substance effect your health?
They can change the chemical make up of the molecules in your body. If the right molecule is affected i.e. DNA you could have problems.
Alpha particles usually have to be inhaled or eaten to be dangerous.
What are some ways to minimize the effect of nuclear radiation?
Prevent exposure- Safety suits. Only allow people into affected areas as needed.
Avoid Contamination- Make sure affected materials are handled properly.
Monitor Exposure- Film Badges, Geiger Counters
Explain what happens on an atomic level when a substance decays.
In the nucleus of an atom the repulsive weak forces of the positively charged protons overcomes the strong nuclear force holding the atom together and the atom decays.
Describe the concept of a half life.
What is it? What is it used to describe? What is it used for?
The half life is the time that it takes for half of a radioactive substance to decay. All radioactive substances decay in a predictable way. The half life can be used to determine how dangerous a radioactive substance will be in the future and how long a substance has been around (radiometric dating).
What type of equipment is used to study subatomic particles?
Particle accelerators are used to speed atoms, molecules, and subatomic particles up to incredible speeds and make them collide together releasing the particles that make them up so that they can be studied.
The Large Hadron Collider is the biggest particle accelerator in the world.
What determines how fast a radioactive material will decay?
The material, any given radioactive material will decay at the same rate, no matter what the external conditions are.
What is the biggest benefits of Nuclear Power?
A large amount of energy can be created from a small amount of material.
No emissions are released in the air. CO2, SO4 among others.
What is the main reason that nuclear Fusion is not a viable source of electricity at this point?
In order to make fusion occur the matter must be a plasma. This requires a lot on energy.
