Chapter 20 Part I Lecture Notes: Radioactivity and Radioactive Decay

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Chapter 20 Part I Lecture Notes: Radioactivity and Radioactive Decay

These lecture notes are meant to be interactive. While you are watching the lecture videos and
looking through the notes, you will find questions to answer or empty spots that you need to fill in.

I. Diagnosing Appendicitis

• Radioactivity is the emission of subatomic
particles or high-‐energy electromagnetic radiation
by the nuclei if certain atoms
• Such atoms are radioactive
• Most radioactive emission can pass through many
types of matter – skin, muscle, organs, etc.
• During a test to confirm appendicitis, antibodies
were labeled with radioactive atoms and then
injected into a patients bloodstream
• Since antibodies attack infection, they might
migrate to area of the body where infection is
present
• If the appendix was indeed infected, the
antibodies would accumulate there

II. The Discovery of Radioactivity

• Radioactivity was first observed in 1896 by French scientist – Antoine-‐Henri Becquerel
• He was interested in X-‐rays and hypothesized that X-‐rays were emitted in conjunction with
phosphorescence – the long-‐lived emission of light that sometimes follows the absorption of
light by certain atoms and molecules
• We know it as the “glow” in glow-‐in-‐the-‐dark products
• He hypothesized that the glow was associated with the emission of X-‐rays

• To test his hypothesis, he placed crystals
(composed of potassium uranyl sulfate –
compound known to phosphoresce) on top
of a photographic plate wrapped in black
cloth
• He then exposed the crystals to sunlight
• He saw emitted light when he brought the
crystals back to the dark
• If the crystals had also emitted X-‐rays, the
X-‐rays would have passed through the black
cloth and exposed the underlying
photographic plate

Tro. Principles of Chemistry: A Molecular Approach Copyright 2010 Pearson Education
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• He later discovered that a photographic plate with the same crystals showed a dark
exposure spot even when the plate and the crystals were stored in a drawer and not
exposed to sunlight
• He realized that the crystals themselves were constantly emitting something that exposed
the photographic plate, regardless of whether or not they phosphoresced
• He concluded that it was the uranium within the crystals that was the course of the
emissions – uranic rays

• Marie Sklodwaska Curie sought out to
determine whether any other substances
emitted these rays
• Curie discovered two new elements – polonium
and radium (gently glows in the dark and emits
heat)
• Since these rays were not unique to uranium,
Curie changed the name – radioactivity

III. Types of Radioactivity

• Scientists discovered that the emissions are produced by the nuclei of radioactive atoms
• Such nuclei are unstable and spontaneously decompose, emitting small pieces of
themselves to gain stability
• Natural radioactivity is categorized as:
o Alpha (α) decay
o Beta (β) decay
o Gamma (γ) ray emission
o Positron emission

• Recall the notation for symbolizing isotopes

• When we are discussing nuclear properties, we often refer to a particular isotope (or
species) of an element as nuclide.
• We represent the main subatomic particles with the following notation


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A) Alpha Decay

• Alpha (α) decay occurs when
an unstable nucleus emits a
particle composed of two
protons and two neutrons

• The alpha particle is by far the most massive
• Alpha radiation has the most potential to interact with and damage other molecules
• Highly energetic radiation interacts with other molecules and atoms by ionizing them
• When radiation ionizes molecules within the cells of living organisms, the cells can usually
repair the damage
• However, in some cases the cells can die or begin to reproduce abnormally
• The ability of radiation to ionize other molecules and atoms – ionizing power
• Alpha radiation has the highest ionizing power
• Since alpha particles have such a large size, they have the lowest penetrating power –
ability to penetrate matter
• In order for radiation to damage important molecules within living cells, it must
penetrate into the cell
• Alpha radiation can be stopped by a sheet of paper, clothing, or even by and thus does not
penetrate into a cell
• On the other hand, consuming a large amount of an alpha emitter can be dangerous

B) Beta Decay

• Beta (β)decay occurs when an unstable nucleus emits an electron
• In some unstable nuclei, a neutron changes into a proton and emits an electron


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• Beta particles are much less massive than alpha particles and consequently have a lower
ionizing power but higher penetrating power
• Beta particles can be stopped by a sheet of metal or thick piece of wood

C) Gamma Ray Emission

• Gamma (γ) ray emission is significantly different from alpha or beta radiation
• Gamma radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation

• Gamma rays are high-‐energy (short wavelength) photons
• A gamma ray has no charge and no mass
• When a gamma ray photon is emitted from a radioactive atom, it does not change the
mass number or the atomic number of the element

• Gamma rays are usually emitted from nuclei in excited sates or in conjunction with other
types of radiation
• In some instances, there can be a delay between the initial decay and the subsequent
emission of gamma rays
• The initial decay leaves the daughter nucleus in metastable state – unstable state that can
exist for a prolonged period of time
• The daughter then emits a gamma particle at a later time
• Gamma rays have the lowest ionizing power but the highest penetrating power
• They can only be stopped by several inches of lead or thick slabs of concrete

D) Positron Emission

• Positron emission occurs when
an unstable nucleus emits a
positron
• A positron is the antiparticle of
the electron; it has the same
mass of an electron but
opposite charge


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• If a positron collides with an electron, the two particles annihilate each other, releasing
energy in the form of gamma rays
• In positron emission a proton is converted into a neutron and emits a positron

E) Electron Capture

• Electron capture involves a particle being absorbed by rather than emitted from an
unstable nucleus
• Electron capture occurs when a nucleus assimilated an electron from an inner orbital of its
electron cloud
• In electron capture a proton is converted to a neutron

Table 19.1 Summarized the different types of Radioactive Decay

Practice Problem: Fill in the missing particles in each nuclear equation:

a) !"# !"𝐴𝑚 → !"𝑁𝑝 + ?
!"#

b) → !"" !
!"𝑈 + !!𝑒

c) !"# !"𝑁𝑝 → !𝐻𝑒 + ?
!

d) !"
!"𝐵𝑟 → !!𝑒 + ?
!


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IV. The Valley of Stability: Predicting the Type of Radioactivity

• What causes a particular nuclide to be radioactive in the first place?
• Why do some nuclides decay via alpha, while others decay via beta or positron?
• A nucleus is collection of protons and neutrons
• Since, protons repel one another, what binds the nucleus together?
• All nucleons – protons and neutrons – are attracted to one another by the strong force
(acts only at very short distances)
• The stability of a nucleus is a balance between the repulsive columbic forces among
protons and the attractive strong force among all nucleons
• The neutrons in the nucleus help stabilize the nucleus – they attract other nucleons

• It might seem that adding more neutrons
would always lead to greater stability, so
that the more neutrons the better but that
is not the case
• Since protons and neutrons occupy energy
levels in a nucleus
• As you add more neutrons, the neutrons
must occupy increasingly higher energy
levels within the nucleus
• At some point, the energy payback from the
strong force is not enough to compensate
for the high energy state that the neutrons
must occupy

• An important number in determining
nuclear stability is the ratio of neutrons to
protons (N/Z)
• Yellow dots: unstable nuclei
• Green dots: stable nuclei
• The region of the graph with the green dots
– valley of stability

• In order to decide whether a particular nuclide has an N/Z ratio that is too high (too many
neutrons), too low (too many protons) or stable is:
• To consult the diagram – those nuclides that lie within the valley of stability are stable
• To compare the mass number of the nuclide to the atomic number listed in the periodic
table

A) Magic Numbers

• In addition to the N/Z ration, the actual number of protons and neutron also affects the
stability of the nucleus

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Nucleons occupy energy levels within the nucleus much as electrons occupy energy level
•
within an atom
• Atoms with certain numbers of nucleons (N or Z = 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82 and N = 126) are
uniquely stable
• These numbers are magic numbers
B) Radioactive Decay Series

• Atoms with Z>83 are radioactive and decay in one or
more steps involving primarily alpha and beta decay.

Practice Problem: The following isotopes are radioactive. Predict what type of decay each would be
likely to undergo and explain your reasoning thoroughly. Write the nuclear reaction for the decay
process in each case.

Fr-‐221

Br-‐76

Practice Problem: Determine whether or not each nuclide is likely to be stable. State your reason.

a) Mg-‐26

b) Ne-‐25

c) Co-‐51

d) Te-‐124

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V. Detecting Radioactivity

• The particles emitted by radioactive nuclei are very energetic and therefore can be readily
detected
• In a radiation detector, the particles are detected through their interactions with atoms or
molecules
• The most common radiation detectors are thermoluminescent dosimeters – issued to
people working with or near radioactive substances

• Radioactivity can be instantly detected with devices such as a Geiger-‐Muller counter
• Particles emitted by radioactive nuclei pass through an argon-‐filled chamber.
• The energetic particles create a trail of ionized argon atoms
• Newly formed ions to produce an electrical signal that can be displayed on a meter or
turned into an audible click
• Each click corresponds to a radioactive particle passing through the argon gas chamber

• A second type of device commonly used to detect radiation instantly is a scintillation
counter
• Radioactive emission pass through a material (NaI or CsI) that emits ultraviolet or visible
light in response to excitation by high-‐energy photons
• The photons excite the atoms to a higher-‐energy state
• The atoms release this energy as light, which is detected and turned into an electrical
signal read on a meter

VI. The Kinetics of Radioactive Decay and Radiometric Dating

• One reason for the radioactivity in our environment is the instability of all atomic nuclei
beyond atomic numbers 83 (bismuth)
• Every element with more than 83 protons in its nucleus is unstable – radioactive
• Some isotopes with fever than 83 protons are also unstable – radioactive
• Radioactive nuclides persist in our environment because new radioactive nuclides are
constantly being formed and because many of the existing ones decay away only very
slowly

• All radioactive nuclei decay via first-‐order kinetics – rate of decay is directly proportional
to the number of nuclei present
• Rate = kN
• Different radioactive nuclides decay into their daughter nuclides with different rate
constants


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• The time it takes for one-‐half of the parent nuclides in a radioactive sample to decay to
the daughter nuclides is the half-‐life
• t1/2 = 0.693 / k
• Nuclides that decay quickly have short half-‐lives and large rate constants – very active
• Nuclides that decay slowly have long half-‐lives and are less active

• Thorium-‐232 is an alpha emitter with a half-‐life of 1.4 x 1010 years

Radon-‐220 has a half-‐life of ~1 minute
•

A) The Integrated Rate Law

• For first-‐order chemical reactions, the
concentration of a reactants as a function
of time is given by the integrated rate
law:

• Because nuclear decay follows first-‐order kinetics, we can substitute the number of nuclei
for the concentration:

Practice Problem: Plutonium-‐236 is an alpha emitter with a half-‐life of 2.86 years. If a sample
initially contains 1.35 mg of Pu-‐236, what mass of Pu-‐236 is present after 5.00 years?

B) Radiocarbon Dating

• Since radioactivity is a first-‐order process, the rate of decay is linearly proportional to the
number of nuclei in the sample
• The initial rate of decay (rate0) and the rate of decay at time t (ratet):
• The radioactive isotopes in our environment and their predictable decay with time can
therefore be used to estimate the age of rocks or artifacts containing those isotopes –
radiometric dating

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• The continuous formation of carbon-‐14 in the atmosphere and its continuous decay to
nitrogen-‐14 produce a nearly constant steady-‐state amount of atmospheric carbon-‐14
• The atmospheric carbon-‐14 is oxidized to carbon dioxide and incorporated into plants by
photosynthesis
• The C-‐14 then makes its way up the food chain and into living organisms
• The tissues in all living plants, animals, and humans contain the same ratio of C-‐14 to C-‐12
as found in the atmosphere
• When a living organism dies however, it stop incorporating new carbon-‐14 into its tissues.
• The C-‐14 to C-‐12 ratio begins to decrease with a half-‐life of 5715 years

C) Uranium/Lead Dating

• Radiocarbon dating can only measure the ages of objects that were once living and that
are relatively young (<50,000 years)
• Other radiometric dating techniques can measure the ages of prehistoric objects that
were never alive
• The most dependable technique relies on the ratio of uranium-‐238 to lead-‐206 within
igneous rocks
• This technique measured the time that has passed since the rock solidified
• Because U-‐238 decays into Pb-‐206 with a half-‐life to 4.5x109 years, the relative amounts of
U-‐238 and Pb-‐206 in a uranium-‐containing rock reveal its age

Practice Problem: A layer of peat beneath the glacial sediments of the last ice age has a carbon-‐
14/carbon-‐12 ratio that is 72.5% of that found in living organisms. How old is the boat?

Practice Problem: A chemist wishing to do an experiment requiring 47Ca2+ (half-‐life = 4.536 days)
needs 5.00 mg of the nuclide. What mass of 47CaCO3 must be ordered if it takes 48.0 h for delivery
from the supplier? Assume that the atomic mass of 47Ca is 47.0 amu.
Practice Problem: P-‐32 has a half-‐life of 14.3 days. If you start with a sample of P-‐32 that has an
activity of 0.25 mCi, determine the activity of this sample after 40.0 days.


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