Radioactivity / Isotopes Flashcards
For an atom of one element to change into a different element the number of ____________ must change.
protons
ability of an atom to emit charged particles and energy from its nucleus
radioactivity
the charged particles and energy emitted from a nucleus
radiation
general type of atoms that are radioactive
unstable nucleus
holds protons together in the nucleus
strong nuclear force
tries to repel protons from each other in the nucleus
Coulombic force
all elements with this number of protons or more are radioactive
84
an element can also be radioactive if its proton to neutron __________ is not equal to 1
ratio
radioactivity was discovered by
Becquerel
this person discovered polonium and radium
Curie
atoms of an element that do not have the same number of neutrons as protons
isotopes
number of protons in an alpha particle
2
number of neutrons in an alpha particle
2
number of electrons in an alpha particle
0
approximate amount of energy released by the emission of an alpha particle
13 J