Nuclear Chemistry Review Flashcards
Neutron controls
Reactivity
Protons controll…
Identity
Electrons control…
Stability
Radioactive materials have unstable _____.
Nuclei
Alpha particles ____.
Are positively charged.
What is not a type of nuclear radiation?
X rays
Nuclear radiation refers to charged particles or energy emitted by an unstable ___.
Nucleus
Alpha particles are nuclei of
Helium
During beta decay, a nucleus
Gains a proton and loses a neutron
In radioactive decay, with each successive half-life, half the remaining sample decays to form another
Element
Nuclei with too many or too few neutrons are
Unstable
Fusion occurs when nuclei
Combine
The opposite reaction to fusion is called
Fission
In the equation E = mc^2, “c” stands for
The speed of light
You prepare a large screened-in box, inside which you place several dozen mouse traps. You set each trap and on each mouse trap you place a ping pong ball. You then drop another ping pong ball into the box, which sets off one of the mouse traps, which sets off other mouse traps, and so on. You have just demonstrated.
A chain reaction
Radon gas is produced
Through radioactive decay of uranium-238 in Earth’s crust
Small radioactive sources that are present in smoke detectors release
Alpha particles
Short-lived isotopes used in agriculture to monitor water flow through crops are called
Radioactive tracers
To treat certain brain tumors, doctors can use small beams of ____ that are focused to kill only the tumor cells
Gamma rays
The use of nuclear reactors to generate electricity is
Found in dozens of countries
