ACTIVITY NO.

12: The Nuclear Reactions Involved in the Synthesis of New Elements

NAME: DATE:
YEAR & SECTION: SCORE:

Concept Notes:
Nuclear reaction is the process where two nuclei collide to produce new nuclei. There are two types of nuclear reaction:
nuclear transmutation and nuclear decay reaction.
What happens during nuclear transmutation?
Nuclear Transmutation
A nuclear transmutation is a reaction involving the transformation of one element into another element. It happens
when a nucleus reacts with a subatomic particle to produce a more massive nucleus. It occurs only on special conditions
such as the collision of the target nuclei with a beam of particles with high energies.
In 1919, the first successful transmutation was done by Rutherford. He bombarded nitrogen nuclei with alpha particles
to form oxygen nuclei. In the next decades, other nuclear reactions were discovered by bombarding other elements with
alpha particles. However, since these particles have a strong repulsive force with the target nuclei (both are positively
charged), the progress in discovering elements was slow. Scientists then tried other particles with higher energies. In
1932, major advancements in nuclear reactions took place. Particle accelerators, which use a projectile of high-energy
particles, were invented.
Transuranium Elements
Transuranium elements are elements whose atomic numbers are greater than 92. They are all unstable and undergo
radioactive decay. Many of the transuranium elements were prepared using particle accelerators, and much of this work
was facilitated by a group of scientists led by the American chemist, Glenn Theodore Seaborg, and later, nuclear scientist
Albert Ghiorso in the University of California.
The most effective way of preparing transuranium elements specifically in the lower members of the series (elements 93
to 95), was through nitrogen bombardment. As for the heavier transuranium elements (96 to 101), they were generally
prepared with high-energy positive ions which include the use of deuterons, carbon nuclei, and ions.
Examples
Neptunium (Z = 93)
The first transuranium element was identified by Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson in 1940. It was named neptunium,
bearing an atomic number of 93. They acquired the radioactive isotope of neptunium through the bombardment of
uranium oxide with slow neutrons. This reaction can be represented as

Plutonium (Z = 94)
After the discovery of 239Np, the decay of this element led to the discovery of another element, bearing an atomic
number of 94. Seaborg, together with McMillan, Wahl, and Kennedy bombarded uranium with deuterons to form 238Np,
with a half-life of two days, which then decayed into 238Pu, with a half-life of 92 days. The reactions can be represented
as

Nuclear Decay Reaction

Nuclear decay reaction, also known as radioactive decay, is a reaction in which the nucleus emits radiation and
transforms into a new nucleus. The parent nuclei are unstable, and the resulting daughter nuclei are more stable, having
lower mass and energy. Transuranium elements are unstable that they undergo radioactive decay resulting in more
stable elements.
The nuclear decay reactions involved in the synthesis of transuranium elements are alpha decay, beta decay, and
spontaneous fission.
Alpha Decay
The alpha decay is a reaction that emits helium-4 nucleus or alpha particle, This decay produces a daughter nucleus
with an atomic number reduced by two, and a mass number reduced by four compared with the parent nucleus. Most
nuclei with mass numbers greater than 200 undergo this type of decay. The general reaction can be represented as
where A is the mass number, Z is the atomic number, X represents the parent nucleus, and Y represents the daughter
nucleus.

For example, neptunium-237, the most abundant isotope of neptunium, undergoes alpha decay to form protactinium-
233. The nuclear reaction is represented as

Beta Decay
In beta decay, a neutron is converted into a proton and emits an electron in the form of a beta particle. The atomic
number goes up by one while its mass number remains the same. The general reaction can be represented as

For example, curium-249 undergoes decay by beta particle emission to form berkelium-249. The balanced equation for
this reaction is represented as

Spontaneous Fission
In spontaneous fission, the nucleus breaks into pieces into different atomic numbers and mass numbers. This occurs in
very massive nuclei. For instance, californium-254 undergoes spontaneous fission, making various sets of fission
products. One possible set can be represented as

In nuclear reactions, the parent nucleus is on the left side of the equation. The daughter nucleus and the emitted particle
are on the right side. The number of nuclei is always conserved.

Exercises: Read each statement carefully. Write the correct answer on the space provided.
1. It is a type of reaction where the nucleus is transformed into another nucleus by emitting radiation.
_____________________
2. It is a type of reaction involving the transformation of one element into another through bombardment
of particles. ________________________
3. Using the notation, what is the notation for polonium-208 given that its atomic number is 84?
_____
4. Using the notation, what is the notation for francium-211 given that its atomic number is 87?
_____
5. Curium-244 undergoes alpha decay to form an isotope of plutonium. What is the balanced equation
for this reaction? ________________________
6. Californium-252 undergoes to form Curium-248. What type of nuclear decay did californium-252
(Z=98) undergo if the atomic number of curium-248 is 96? _____________________________
7. What equation represents the spontaneous fission of ? ______________________
Read each statement carefully. Encircle the letter/s of the correct answer/s.
8. Which of the following statements is NOT true about transuranium elements?
a. They are synthesized using bombardment reactions.
b. They are all unstable and undergo radioactive decay.
c. They form a series which include uranium and plutonium.
d. They are elements whose atomic numbers are greater than 92.
9. Plutonium-242 decays to form uranium-238. Its reaction is represented as Which of
the following is true?
a. Plutonium-242 undergoes beta decay to form uranium-238, releasing a beta particle.
b. Plutonium-242 undergoes alpha decay to form uranium-238, releasing an alpha particle.
c. The mass number of uranium is equivalent to the mass number of plutonium reduced by two.

d. The atomic number of uranium is equivalent to the atomic number of plutonium reduced by four.
10. Why is it important for transuranium elements to undergo radioactive decay?
a. Transuranium elements undergo radioactive decay to become more stable.
b. Transuranium elements undergo radioactive decay to have higher energies.
c. Transuranium elements undergo radioactive decay to have higher mass number.
d. Transuranium elements undergo radioactive decay to have lower atomic number.