Today in class we began to learn about the radioactivity of many nuclei. We were given the three different types were alpha, beta and gamma. One very helpful concept we learned while calculating these three is that the two daughters in the equation will always add up to the parents.
Alpha is shown by
4 He
2
Beta is shown by
0 e
-1
And gamma is shown by
0Y
0
Here is a helpful chart we made in class for remembering the differences between the three types
One very helpful concept we learned while calculating these three is that the two daughters in the equation will always add up to the parents. So, this picture shows alpha radiation because there is the
4He, and you can also notice that the 2 and 86 add up to be 88 and at the same time 4 and 218 add up
2 to be 222. These concepts are much easier now that i was shown how simple it is to just add them up. We also learned how to predict the daughters when we know the parent and the type of radiation. Just take the parent function and add or subtract the numbers corresponding with the radiation. This is what it would look like and all there is to do is find the number that will add together with the decay to equal the parent. In this problem, the ? would end up being
234 Th
90
It is also important to remember to change the element letter if you notice that there is a change in the proton count, or the bottom number!
A helpful video that breaks down writing the formulas is:
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/nuclear-chemistry/radioactive-decay/v/alpha-beta-and-gamma-decay
This really helped me understand the different types of decay. The chart was extremely helpful in remembering which type of decay does what to the element.
ReplyDeleteHolly, thanks for the link to the video! I found it very helpful and liked how it explained why alpha particles were Helium because of the composition of the nucleus. Before watching the video, I had no idea and had just memorized the equations. In addition, your chart was very helpful. The way you arranged it made it very easy to compare and contrast the three types of radiations.One thing that might have been helpful to add was the definition of radioactivity so that people new to the subject would now what you were talking about. Other than that, you're post looked great! Thanks for the help!
ReplyDeleteThis post really helped me understand the lesson as I was absent when we learned about this. Your chart was a really good summary of what we should have gotten out of the lesson and your explanations helped a lot too! The video was great help also! Thanks you!
ReplyDelete