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    1) In 1896, Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium ore exposed sealed photographic film, emitting unknown rays of energy without any external stimulation. 2) Marie and Pierre Curie later isolated two new elements - polonium and radium - that emitted even more energy through the phenomenon of radioactivity. 3) Radioactivity is the spontaneous breakdown of unstable atomic nuclei through the emission of particles or energy, allowing the nucleus to reach a more stable arrangement.

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    Ns-Radioactivity 17

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    1) In 1896, Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium ore exposed sealed photographic film, emitting unknown rays of energy without any external stimulation. 2) Marie and Pierre Curie later isolated two new elements - polonium and radium - that emitted even more energy through the phenomenon of radioactivity. 3) Radioactivity is the spontaneous breakdown of unstable atomic nuclei through the emission of particles or energy, allowing the nucleus to reach a more stable arrangement.

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    1) In 1896, Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium ore exposed sealed photographic film, emitting unknown rays of energy without any external stimulation. 2) Marie and Pierre Curie later isolated two new elements - polonium and radium - that emitted even more energy through the phenomenon of radioactivity. 3) Radioactivity is the spontaneous breakdown of unstable atomic nuclei through the emission of particles or energy, allowing the nucleus to reach a more stable arrangement.

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    Ns-Radioactivity 17

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    1) In 1896, Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium ore exposed sealed photographic film, emitting unknown rays of energy without any external stimulation. 2) Marie and Pierre Curie later isolated two new elements - polonium and radium - that emitted even more energy through the phenomenon of radioactivity. 3) Radioactivity is the spontaneous breakdown of unstable atomic nuclei through the emission of particles or energy, allowing the nucleus to reach a more stable arrangement.

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    Unit 2 / Matter- Atomic Structure

    Radioactivity

    1896
    Henri Becquerel, a French scientist, found that samples of ore containing
    uranium were able to expose sealed photographic film. Somehow, the uranium
    was able to give off rays of energy spontaneously. He suspected some unknown
    element in uranium ore to be the cause. Becquerel hired Marie Curie as an
    assistant to isolate this unknown element which spontaneously gave off high
    amounts of energy. With her husband Pierre, Madame Curie began a search
    which brought success in 1898 when the Curies isolated a new chemical element
    which spontaneously emitted energy. They named it Polonium after their native
    country. Four years later, the Curies isolated another substance that released lots
    of energy. This new element was called radium. The Curies coined the terms
    radiation and radioactivity.

    Radioactivity describes the phenomenon where rays or particles are


    produced spontaneously by the breaking down (decay) of an unstable atomic
    nucleus. If the structure of a nucleus is not stable, the nucleus will eject a particle
    or energy in order to reach a more stable arrangement. We say the decay is
    spontaneous because we have no control over it. The amount of energy released
    in a nuclear change is very large. Atoms with unstable nuclei such as uranium are
    found in nature. All elements beyond Bismuth (atomic # 83) are radioactive due to
    their heavy, unstable nuclei.

    unstable nucleus stable nucleus + particles/energy

    It was later (1899) found (Rutherford!) that 3 forms of radiation can come
    from naturally radioactive nuclei and that each differed in response to an electric
    field. Rutherford used the first 3 letters of the Greek alphabet to name the
    particles:

    1. alpha () particles + charge; combine with electrons to form He atoms


    2. beta () particles charge;high-speed electrons; radioactive
    equivalent
    of cathode rays
    3. gamma () rays high energy radiation; similar to X-rays

    Property alpha () beta () gamma ()


    Charge

    mass

    nature of radiation

    symbols

    relative penetrating power


    Chemistry Raleigh Charter High School Dr. Genez 1
    When a radioactive substance emits an alpha or beta particle, it changes
    into a new element with different chemical and physical properties.

    Radium Radon + alpha particle

    We use equations to describe these nuclear (decay) reactions; the


    masses and charges of the reactant (nucleus) and products (new nucleus +
    decay particle) must be balanced (equal on both sides of the reaction).

    226
    88 Ra 222
    86 Rn + 4
    2 He

    Types of nuclear reactions


    (a) alpha () decay: decay of nucleus produces an particle and a product
    nucleus with 2 fewer protons and 2 fewer neutrons
    238
    92U 90Th + 2 (atomic number < by 2; atomic mass < by 4)
    234 4

    (b) beta () decay: decay of nucleus produces a particle and a product


    nucleus with the same mass and one more proton; the
    electron accompanies the nuclear conversion of a neutron
    131
    53 I 131
    54 Xe + 0
    -1 into a proton and an electron (10n 11p + 0-1e)
    (atomic number > by 1; atomic mass stays the same)

    (c) gamma () radiation: accompanies other radioactive emissions and


    represents the energy lost to the nucleus when the
    nuclear particles reorganize into more stable
    arrangements; changes neither mass nor atomic
    number; generally, gamma rays are not shown when
    writing nuclear equations

    (d) positron (0+1e) emission: positron emission produces a 0+1e particle and a
    product nucleus with the same mass, one less
    proton and one more neutron; the positron
    accompanies the nuclear conversion of
    a proton to a neutron (11p 10n + 0+1e)
    (atomic number < by 1; atomic mass stays the same)

    (e) electron capture: nucleus captures an electron from the electron cloud
    surrounding the nucleus; in the nucleus, this electron
    converts a proton into a neutron (11p + 0-1e 10n)
    (as in positron emission, atomic number < by 1; atomic
    mass stays the same)
    11
    6C 5B + 0+1e
    11

    Chemistry Raleigh Charter High School Dr. Genez 2


    81
    37 Rb + 0
    -1 e (orbital electron) 81
    36 Kr

    Chemistry Raleigh Charter High School Dr. Genez 3

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