NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY

1a.
RADIOACTIVITY
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What do we mean by Radioactivity?

⊗ In some types of atom, the nucleus is unstable, and will decay into a
more stable atom. This radioactive decay is completely spontaneous.
The energy that is released from the nucleus of the atom is radiation.
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What do we mean by Radioactivity?

⊗ Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable atomic nucleus
loses energy by emitting radiation in the form of particles or
electromagnetic waves. Elements with atomic numbers greater than
83 are all radioactive.
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Nuclear Symbols Element

Which is what? symbol

Mass number
(p+ + no)

Atomic number
(number of p+)
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When an unstable nucleus decays, there are three

ways that it can do so. It may give out
⊗   ⊗   ⊗  
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⊗ Made of 2 protons and 2 neutrons
⊗ Have a charge of +2 and a mass of 4
⊗ Relatively slow and heavy
⊗ They have low penetrating power.
⊗ You can stop them with just a sheet of paper.
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⊗ Have a charge of minus 1 and a mass of about 1/200th of a proton
⊗ This is the same as an electron
⊗ They are fast and light
⊗ Have a medium penetrating power
⊗ You can stop them by a sheet of aluminum or plastics
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⊗ They are waves, not particles
⊗ They have no mass and no charge
⊗ Have a high penetrating power
⊗ You can stop them by a thick sheet of metal such as lead, or
concrete to reduce them signiicantly.
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Radioactivity

Paper bag Aluminum Concrete

 1b.
RADIATION MEASUREMENT
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curie (Ci)
original unit of activity, was defined
as the number of disintegrations
that occur in 1 s for 1 g of radium,
which is equal to 3.7 x 1010
disintegrations/s.
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becquerel (Bq)
One becquerel is defined as the
activity of a quantity of radioactive
material in which one nucleus
decays per second.

1 disintegration/s.
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radiation absorbed dose (rad)

SI unit for absorbed dose
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gray (Gy)
SI unit for absorbed dose
defined as the joules of energy
absorbed by 1 kg of body tissue.
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radiation equivalent in humans

(rem)
is a unit that measures the
biological effects of different kinds
of radiation.
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Measurement Summary
Measurement Common Unit SI Unit Relationship
Activity Curie (Ci) becquerel (Bq)
1 Ci = 3.7 x 1010
1 Ci = 3.7 x 1010 1 Bq =
disintegration/s 1 disintegration/s Bq

Absorbed gray (Gy)

Dose rad 1 Gy = 100 rad
1 Gy = 1 J/kg of tissue

Biological
Damage rem sievert (Sv) 1 Sv = 100 rem
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 2.
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
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⊗ SOME Elements are naturally unstable
⊗ they tend to undergo alpha-decay or beta-decay to become more
stable.
⊗ They may take several steps in order to achieve this, thus we
observe decay chains (also known as series decay) for most
radioactive elements.
⊗ For example, it takes U-238 14 steps of alpha and beta decay to
become completely stable
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⊗ During alpha decay, an atom’s nucleus SHEDS two protons and 2
neutrons (alpha particle)

Large, Smaller, Alpha Particle

unstable nucleus More stable nucleus
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 3.
FISS
FUS ION
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⊗  
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⊗  
 4.
HALF Life
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⊗ When radioactive isotopes decay, they do so exponentially. Their
rate of decay is determined through an understanding of half-life.
⊗ Half-life is the amount of time it takes for half of the atoms of an
unstable isotope to decay.
⊗ ATOMS with short half-lives are more unstable than those with long
half-lives.
Half Life

Radon-222 decays with a half-life of 3.82

days. If an initial sample of the element
contains 1000 atoms, how long will it take for
the sample to decay down to 125 atoms?

Ans.
Half Life

An initial sample of zinc-61 contains 215

grams. After 976 days, the sample size has
reduced to 13.4375 grams. What is the
half-life of zinc-61 atoms?

Ans.
Half Life

Thorium-230 decays with a half life of 80,000

years. If an initial sample has a mass of 10.00
grams, how much will remain after 320,000
years?

Ans.
 Alpha Particle Beta Particle Emission Gamma Ray Emission
Emission

Symbol

Mass Heavy Light No Mass

How it changes the ∙ Decreases the ∙ Converts a neutron No change to the

nucleus mass number by 4 into a proton nucleus
∙ Decreases the ∙ Increases atomic
atomic number by 2 number by 1

Penetration Low Medium High

Protection provided Skin Paper, clothing Lead

by…

Danger Low Medium High

 Questions?

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