Kasempa Day Secondary School

Natural Science Department Science corner production 3 @2021

THE NATURE OF RADIOACTIVITY RADIOACTIVE DECAY EQUATIONS

 The nature of radioactivity is that it happens: 1 Alpha decay equation: When an atom undergoes alpha decay, its nucleon (mass
(i) Spontaneously and number) number decreases by four and its proton number by two. Alpha decay is
(ii) Randomly.
represented by the following general equation:
 By spontaneously we mean that it happens without any help from anything else such that it
cannot be stopped from happening. A The values of A and Z must balance on both sides of
X → A− 4 4
 And by randomly we mean that it happens suddenly and at any time such that it is not possible Z Z−2Y + 2 He the equation since nucleon number and charge are
conserved.
to predict when a particular nucleus of an element will decompose.
Parent Daughter Alpha
 Therefore, it is impossible to state exactly which nucleus and when a particular nucleus will
nuclide nuclide particle
break.
 This indicates that radioactivity is not affected by a chemical reaction or any change in physical For example, when radium of nucleon number 226 and proton number 88 emits an
conditions such as temperature, pressure, electric field or magnetic field and so on. alpha particle, it decays to radon of nucleon number 222 and proton number 86. We
can write the decay equation as follows:
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE THREE KINDS OF RADIATIONS Alpha particles are released by high mass,
proton rich unstable nuclei.
Radiations from radioactive materials can be dangerous and pose health hazards. By knowing the
ability of each type of radiation to penetrate matter allows us to gain an understanding on how best 2 Beta decay equation: When an atom undergoes beta decay, the mass number
to protect ourselves. Below are some of the characteristics of radioactive particles. remains the same while the proton number increases by one as shown by the following
general equation:
A Beta particles are emitted by neutron rich
Z X → Z +1AY + −10e unstable nuclei.
Parent Daughter Beta
nuclide nuclide particle

For example, radioactive carbon, called carbon-14, decays by β−emission to nitrogen as

shown below: Remember that the values of A and Z must balance on
both sides of the equation since nucleons and charge are
conserved.

3 Gamma decay: when an atom undergoes gamma decay, the proton and mass
number of the daughter nuclide is the same as that of the parent nuclide. The decay
equation for gamma decay is as follows:
A
Z X ¿ → AZ X +ϒ −rays
Where * sign indicates that the daughter nucleus is in an excited state. This means that
after alpha or beta emission the remaining nucleus may still be in an excited energy state.
By releasing a gamma photon, it reduces to a lower energy state.