Download Nuclear Chemistry - Ector County ISD.

Nuclear Chemistry
TIP: The AP Exam is very light on nuclear chemistry.
The exam might have 1 or 2 questions on different type
of decays.
An Introduction
Traditional chemical reactions occur as a result of the interaction between valence electrons around an atom's
nucleus . In 1896, Henri Becquerel expanded the field of chemistry to include nuclear changes when he discovered
that uranium emitted radiation. Soon after Becquerel's discovery, Marie Sklodowska Curie began studying
radioactivity and completed much of the pioneering work on nuclear changes. Curie found that radiation was
proportional to the amount of radioactive element present, and she proposed that radiation was a property of atoms
(as opposed to a chemical property of a compound). Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the
first person to win two (the first, shared with her husband Pierre and Becquerel for discovering radioactivity; the
second for discovering the radioactive elements radium and polonium).
Radiation and nuclear reactions
In 1902, Frederick Soddy proposed the theory that "radioactivity is the result of a natural change of an isotope of
one element into an isotope of a different element." Nuclear reactions involve changes in particles in an atom's
nucleus and thus cause a change in the atom itself. All elements heavier than bismuth (Bi) (and some lighter)
exhibit natural radioactivity and thus can "decay" into lighter elements. Unlike normal chemical reactions that form
molecules, nuclear reactions result in the transmutation of one element into a different isotope or a different
element altogether (remember that the number of protons in an atom defines the element, so a change in protons
results in a change in the atom). There are three common types of radiation and nuclear changes:
1.
Alpha Radiation (α) is the emission of an alpha particle from an atom's nucleus. An α particle contains
two protons and two neutrons (and is similar to a He nucleus:
). When an atom emits an a particle,
the atom's atomic mass will decrease by four units (because two protons and two neutrons are lost) and the
atomic number (z) will decrease by two units. The element is said to "transmute" into another element that
is two z units smaller. An example of an a transmutation takes place when uranium decays into the
element thorium (Th) by emitting an alpha particle, as depicted in the following equation:
238
92
2.
U
4
2
He +
234
90
Th
(Note: in nuclear chemistry, element symbols are traditionally preceded by their atomic weight (upper left)
and atomic number (lower left).
3.
Beta Radiation is the transmutation of a neutron into a proton and an electron (followed by the emission
of the electron from the atom's nucleus:
). When an atom emits a β particle, the atom's mass will not
change (since there is no change in the total number of nuclear particles), however the atomic number will
increase by one (because the neutron transmutates into an additional proton). An example of this is the
decay of the isotope of carbon named carbon-14 into the element nitrogen:
14
6
C
0
-1
e +
14
7
N
4. Gamma Radiation involves the emission of electromagnetic energy (similar to light
energy) from an atom's nucleus. A gamma ray (γ) refers to a high-energy photon.
No particles are emitted during gamma radiation, and thus gamma radiation does
not itself cause the transmutation of atoms, however γ radiation is often emitted
during, and simultaneous to, α or β radioactive decay. X-rays, emitted during the
beta decay of cobalt-60, are a common example of gamma radiation.
60
27 Co
0
0γ
+
4
2He
+
25
56
Mn
(emission of an alpha particle & gamma ray)
Half-life
Radioactive decay proceeds according to a principal called the half-life. The half-life (T½) is
the amount of time necessary for one-half of the radioactive material to decay. For
example, the radioactive element bismuth (210Bi) can undergo alpha decay to form the
element thallium (206Tl) with a reaction half-life equal to five days. If we begin an
experiment starting with 100 g of bismuth in a sealed lead container, after five days we will
have 50 g of bismuth and 50 g of thallium in the jar. After another five days (ten from the
starting point), one-half of the remaining bismuth will decay and we will be left with 25 g of
bismuth and 75 g of thallium in the jar. As illustrated, the reaction proceeds in halfs, with
half of whatever is left of the radioactive element decaying every half-life period.
Radioactive Decay of Bismuth-210 (T½ = 5 days)
The fraction of parent material that remains after radioactive decay can be calculated using the equation:
Fraction remaining =
1
2n
(where n = # half-lives elapsed)
The amount of a radioactive material that remains after a given number of half-lives is therefore:
Amount remaining = Original amount * Fraction remaining
The decay reaction and T½ of a substance are specific to the isotope of the element undergoing radioactive decay.
For example, Bi-210 can undergo a decay to Tl-206 with a T½ of five days. Bi-215, by comparison, undergoes b
decay to Po-215 with a T½ of 7.6 minutes, and Bi-208 undergoes yet another mode of radioactive decay (called
electron capture) with a T½ of 368,000 years!
Stimulated nuclear reactions
While many elements undergo radioactive decay naturally, nuclear reactions can also be stimulated artificially.
Although these reactions also occur naturally, we are most familiar with them as stimulated reactions. There are
two such types of nuclear reactions:
1. Nuclear fission: reactions in which an atom's nucleus splits into smaller parts, releasing a large amount of
energy in the process. Most commonly this is done by "firing" a neutron at the nucleus of an atom. The energy of
the neutron "bullet" causes the target element to split into two (or more) elements that are lighter than the parent
atom.
The Fission Reaction of Uranium-235
During the fission of U235, three neutrons are released in addition to the two daughter atoms. If these released
neutrons collide with nearby U235 nuclei, they can stimulate the fission of these atoms and start a self-sustaining
nuclear chain reaction. This chain reaction is the basis of nuclear power. As uranium atoms continue to split, a
significant amount of energy is released from the reaction. The heat released during this reaction is harvested and
used to generate electrical energy.
2. Nuclear fusion: reactions in which two or more elements "fuse" together to form one larger element, releasing
energy in the process. A good example is the fusion of two "heavy" isotopes of hydrogen (deuterium: H2 and
tritium: H3) into the element helium.
Nuclear Fusion of Two Hydrogen Isotopes
Fusion reactions release tremendous amounts of energy and are commonly referred to as
thermonuclear reactions. Although many people think of the sun as a large fireball, the sun (and
all stars) are actually enormous fusion reactors. Stars are primarily gigantic balls of hydrogen
gas under tremendous pressure due to gravitational forces. Hydrogen molecules are fused into
helium and heavier elements inside of stars, releasing energy that we receive as light and heat.