Nuclear Chemistry Notes Flashcards
Learn types of nuclear decay and other properties
What is nuclear radiation?
Process by which an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionized particles.
What is alpha decay?
Emits an alpha particle (a), can be easily blocked by a sheet of paper.
What is Beta Decay?
When neutrons break down turning into a proton and emits an electron or beta particles. (B) Beta particles can be blocked by thin metal foil.
What is Positron Decay?
When a proton breaks down turning into a neutron and emitting a positron; it has the mass of an electron but has a positive charge instead.
What is Gamma Decay?
Emits a gamma ray (y); since its a ray it doesnt affect the mass or atomic number in a nuclear equation. Very damaging to live tissue.
How do you use neutrons in a nuclear equation?
Add mass but no charge is added or given off during radioactive decay.
What is electron capture?
Instead of shooting out a particle from the nucleus, an electron falls into the nucleus; therefore the electron would be written on the left/reactant side of equation.
What is nuclear fission?
The splitting of a nucleus into smaller more stable atoms/particles gives off a large amount of energy.
What is nuclear fusion?
The binding of smaller nuclei into one larger more stable nucleus also gives off large amounts of energy.
