Chemistry Crunch #13.

1: Balancing Nuclear Reaction Equations KEY

Why?
Nuclear reactions are going on all around us. Using correctly balanced equations is important
when trying to understand nuclear reactions. All equations need to be balanced to conform to two
conservation laws: the mass number is conserved, and the electrical charge is conserved.

SUCCESS will be Measured by YOUR Ability to:

 Use the conservation laws to find an unknown in a nuclear reaction equation.
 Write a balanced nuclear equation for a natural transmutation.

Prerequisites:
 Atomic symbols including mass number, atomic number, and charge.

Requirements:
• Computer and internet access for the following site: www.explorelearning.com

Information:
Information from Reference Table O – Symbols Used in Nuclear Chemistry…
4
2 He = a helium nucleus, also known as an alpha particle
0
1e = an electron, also known as a beta particle when emitted by a nucleus
Model:
The following are two nuclear reaction equations:

220
87 Fr 24He  216
85 At

16
7 N 10 e168O
Key Questions:
1. What are the products of francium-220 decay? Write the names of the products.
4
 2He An alpha particle helium nucleus (also known as a helium nucleus)
216
 85 At astatine-216

2. What are the products of nitrogen-16 decay? Write the names of the products.
0
 1 e An electron (also known as a beta particle)
16
 O Oxygen-16
8

3. a.) Is the alpha particle gained or released by the Fr-220? Released

b.) Is the beta particle gained or released by the N-16? Released

4. By examining the equations in the model, what is the mathematical relationship between the
total mass number of the reactants and the total mass number of the products? Show your
work.
They are equal (mass of reactants = mass of products)
Reactants : Products
Francium Decay 220 : 4 + 216
Nitrogen Decay 16 : 0 + 16

5. By examining the equations in the model, what is the mathematical relationship between the
total charge of the nuclei in the reactants and the total charge of the nuclei in the products?
Show your work. [NOTE: You are looking for the charge of the nuclei, NOT the ionic charge
on the particles!]
They are equal (total charge of reactant nuclei = total charge of product nuclei)
Reactants : Products
Francium Decay 87 : 2 + 85
Nitrogen Decay 7 : -1 + 8

6. How do your answers to Key Questions #4-5 support the laws of conservation of mass number
and charge?
Both mass and charge are conserved in each reaction!
Exercises:
Go to the Internet site: http://www.explorelearning.com
 Click on the “login” button (upper left corner).
 The username is RH Student 4. The password is 4.
 Search “Nuclear Decay.” Click “Launch Gizmo” for the Nuclear Decay Gizmo.
Once loaded, you will notice a simulation with nuclear decay symbols, type of decay dropdown
menu, and starting element dropdown menu.

Alpha Particle Emission:

1. To show the composition of atoms, scientists use the notation shown below.

How many protons and neutrons are in a uranium-238 atom? 92 p, 146 n

2. When uranium undergoes alpha decay, an alpha particle is released from its nucleus.

How many protons and neutrons does the uranium atom lose? 2 p, 2 n
What will be the new mass number and atomic number after decay?
mass # = 234
atomic #= 90
3. Place a check next to Write hypothesis. Several boxes will appear as shown below.

4 234
2 He 90 Th

In the boxes, type the new mass numbers and atomic numbers for the elements created.
Write in your hypothesis above, making sure to include the element symbol for the element
you believe will be created (check your Reference Tables)!

4. Click Play ( ) and observe the alpha particle as it is formed. If your hypothesis was
incorrect, click Reset ( ) and try modifying the hypothesis before clicking Play again.

5. In terms of subatomic particles, what happens to the nucleus of an atom undergoing alpha
decay? It loses 2 protons and 2 neutrons.

6. What happens to the mass number and atomic number of an atom undergoing alpha decay?
The mass # decreases by 4 and the atomic # decreases by 2.
Beta Particle Emission:
1. Click Reset and deselect Write hypothesis. Under Type of decay, select Beta decay and
make sure Carbon is selected. Click Play and carefully observe what happens.

2. What subatomic particle is emitted during beta decay? electron (beta particle)
What will be the new mass number and atomic number after decay? mass # = 14
atomic # = 7
3. Click Reset and place a check next to Write hypothesis. Write your hypothesis below.
14
6 C  e N
0
1
14
7

4. Click Play ( ) and observe the beta particle as it is formed. If your hypothesis was
incorrect, click Reset ( ) and try modifying the hypothesis before clicking Play again.

5. In terms of subatomic particles, what happens to the nucleus of an atom undergoing beta
decay? neutron turns into proton and emits 1 electron.
6. What happens to the mass number and atomic number of an atom undergoing alpha decay?
The mass # stays the same, while the atomic # increases by 1.

Positron Emission:
1. Click Reset and deselect Write hypothesis. Under Type of decay, select Positron emission
and make sure Carbon is selected. (NOTE: The carbon-11 seen here is a different radioactive
isotope of carbon, with three fewer neutrons than the carbon-14 seen in the previous beta
decay section.) Click Play and carefully observe what happens.

2. What subatomic particle is decaying during positron emission? proton

NOTE: A positron is a type of material called antimatter (you may have heard of this if you have read the novel, or
seen the movie, “Angels and Demons.”) When an antimatter particle meets its matter counterpart (in this
case, an electron), they annihilate each other in a burst of gamma radiation. Luckily, there is virtually no
antimatter in our part of the universe!

3. Click Reset and place a check next to Write hypothesis. Write your hypothesis below.
11
6 C  e B
0
1
11
5

4. Click Play ( ) and observe the positron as it is formed. If your hypothesis was incorrect,
click Reset ( ) and try modifying the hypothesis before clicking Play again.

5. In terms of subatomic particles, what happens to the nucleus of an atom undergoing positron
emission? proton turns into neutron and emits an electron.

6. What happens to the mass number & atomic number of an atom undergoing positron emission?
The mass # stays the same while the atomic # decreases by 1
 You are now done with the computer access portion of this assignment.

Below is a graph showing the number of neutrons versus the number of protons for all stable
naturally occurring nuclei.

(The solid line represents a neutron to proton ratio of 1:1.)

http://www.algebralab.org/practice/practice.aspx?file=Reading_TheBandOfStability.xml
1. Find the reactants from each of the Gizmo (computer) emission reactions. Where are they
located on the graph in relation to the belt of stability?
238 14 11
U
92 6C 6C
(146 n) (8 n) (5 n)

U-238 and C-14 are above the solid, diagonal line. C-11 falls just below this line.

2. Are these reactants stable or do they decay spontaneously? Explain your answer.

U-238: 146 n / 92 p = 1.6  decays spontaneously (n0:p+ ratio greater than 1.5)

C-14: 8 n / 6 p = 1.3

C-11: 5 n / 6 p = 0.8  decays spontaneously (n0:p+ ratio less than 1.0)

Connections:

1. The change of U-235 to Pb-206 is used in the dating of geologic formations.

a. Why is U-235 unstable? Use the information on the previous page to provide an answer.
235
U It is unstable because the n:p ratio is not between 1 and 1.5.
92

n:p
143:92
= 1.55
∴ unstable

b. Why is it possible to use this decay to date geologic formations?

Since they spontaneously decay, you can use their half-life information to determine
how much time has passed since the original sample.

2. If C-14 is constantly decaying, how is it that a living being has a constant amount of C-14
throughout its lifetime?

Carbon-14 in the bodies of animals and plants is constantly decaying. However, the
decaying carbon-14 is constantly being replaced as the plant or animal consumes more
carbon-14 from the air or through its food. At any given moment all living plants and
animals have approximately the same percentage of carbon-14 in their bodies.