Section 1 - Particles Flashcards
What are atoms made up of?
Protons, neutrons, electrons
What is a nucleus made up of?
Protons and neutrons
What is the collective name for protons and neutrons?
Nucleons
What is the relative charge for a proton, neutron and electron?
Proton = +1 Neutron = 0 Electron = -1
What is the relative mass for a proton, neutron and electron?
Proton = 1 Neutron = 1 Electron = 0.0005
What is the proton number?
The number of protons in the nucleus
What is the atomic number, and what is its symbol?
The number of protons. Symbol Z
What defines an element?
The proton number
What condition must be satisfied for an element to be neutral?
Proton number must equal the neutron number
What does an element’s chemical behaviour depend on?
The number of electrons
What is the nucleon number and what is its symbol?
The total amount of protons and neutrons in an atom, symbol A
What is the mass number?
Total number of protons and neutrons
What are isotopes?
Atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons
What does changing the number of neutrons in an atom do?
Does not effect chemical properties, but changes stability
What happens to unstable nuclei?
They may be radioactive and decay into different nuclei
What is a use for radioactive isotopes?
Find out how old stuff is
How do you find out how old stuff is with radioactive isotopes?
- All living things have the same number of carbon-14
- After they die, the carbon-14 decreases over time as it decays into stable elements
- Can calc age by using isotopic data to find the % of radioactive carbon-14 left in an object
What is specific charge?
The ratio of its charge to its mass
What is the unit of specific charge?
C/kg
What does the strong nuclear force do?
Binds nucleons together
What is the range of the strong nuclear force when holding nucleons together?
A few femtometeres
Describe the graph of the strong nuclear force
- Repulsive for very small separations (up to 1/2 femtometer)
- After 1/2 femtometer, SNF becomes attractive
- Reaches a maximum value, then falls rapidly towards 0 after 3 femtometer
Why does the SNF have to be repulsive at very small distances?
To stop the nucleus crushing to a point
Where does alpha emission happen?
In very big nuclei
Why does alpha emission happen in big nuclei?
Because the nuclei are too massive for the SNF to keep them stable
What happens when an alpha particle is emitted?
The proton number decreases by 2, the nucleon number decreases by 4
What is the range of an alpha particle?
A few cm in air
How can you observe alpha particles?
Using a cloud chamber or a Geiger counter
How can you use a Geiger counter to measure alpha particles?
Bring it close to the source and move it away slowly. Then count how the count rate drops
When does beta-minus emission happen?
In neutron rich nuclei
What is emitted in beta-minus emission?
An electron and an antineutrino
What happens when a nucleus emits a beta particle?
A neutron is changed into a proton
What happens in beta minus emission?
The proton number increases by one, the nucleon number stays the same
Why do you get an antineutrino in beta minus decay?
To carry away some energy and momentum
List the spectrum in order of increasing frequency
Radio, micro, infra, visible, ultraviolet, x-ray, gamma
What is an anti particle?
A particle with the same mass and rest energy, but opposite charge to the particle
What is the anti particles for a proton, neutron, electron and neutrino?
Proton, anti-proton
Neutron- anti-neutron
Electron, positron
Neutrino, anti-neutrino
What is the rest energy of particle?
The energy equivalent of the particle’s mass
What happens when energy is converted to mass?
You get equal amounts of matter and antimatter
What produces a particle, antiparticle pair?
A single photon
When does pair production occur?
When one photon has enough energy to produce that much mass