Atoms

● Introduction

● Explanation and Definition

All matter is made up of tiny particles called atoms. Living as well as non-living things
are made up of atoms. There are different types of atoms. For example there are Oxygen
atoms, Carbon atoms, Iron atoms, etc. All the different types of atoms are found in the
Periodic Table.

An Atom is the smallest part of an Element that still has its same properties and can take
part in a chemical reaction.

An Element is a substance that is made up of only one type of atom. Iron, Carbon,
Sulphur, Oxygen are all elements.

A Compound is a substance made up of two or more elements that are chemically

combined. Water is a compound, Carbon Dioxide is a compound and Iron Sulphide is a
compound.

A Mixture is a substance that is made up of two or more elements or compounds that is

not chemically combined. Air is a mixture, and Iron and Sulphur is a mixture.

● History

● Indivisible Spheres – Democritus ~ 400bc

Around 400 years before the time of CHRIST, the Greek philosopher Democritus
proposed that if one kept dividing matter into small pieces, there will come a point
where it would not be able to divide again. He said that these were the smallest
possible particles (Indivisible Spheres). This is where the word Atom comes from
the Greek word ‘Atomon’ (indivisible or uncuttable).
● Continuous Ether – Aristotle ~350bc

About 40 years after Democritus, another Greek philosopher came up with an idea
that disagreed with him. He said that matter was made up of substances that could
continuously be divided. This delayed the development of the atomic theory for
almost 2000 years.

● Atom – John Dalton ~ 1777

After examining the results of the experiment done in combining elements, Dalton
realised the following. (1) The total mass of the combining elements at the
beginning of a reaction was

The same as the mass of the substance formed at the end of the reaction; and (2)
their combining masses were in simple whole-number ratios.

This led him to conclude that there must be a basic unit of the element and that this
basic unit did not break up in chemical reactions. He pictured the atoms as Pool
Balls.

This revived the idea of the Atom.

● Electron – J. J. Thomson 1897

James John Thomson discovered the Electron in 1897 by doing experiments with
Cathode-Ray Tubes. He then derived a new description of the Atom called the
Plum Pudding model.

● Cathode Ray experiments

In 1897 J. J Thompson conducted experiments with Cathode ray Tubes. These

tubes passed a beam of particles from a negative electrode, through a vacuum,
to positive electrode. He also used electric plates to deflect the beam and
noticed that they always moved towards the positive – thus they had to be
negative. When he measured their deflection by a magnetic field, he realised
that their properties did no change – thus they had to be a type of particle.
 So Thomson identified this negatively charged particle which is now called the
Electron.

● Plum Pudding Model

After finding the electron he came up with a new description (model) of the
atom. Unlike Dalton’s Pool Ball Model, his model had smaller particles in the
atom.

His Model is the Plum Pudding Model. A plum pudding is a pudding with
Plums (prunes or raisins) in it. However it would be easier to explain as a
Water Melon. The Seed would represent the Electrons (since he knew electrons
were particles) and the rest of the Flesh represented the Positive Charge.

● Nucleus – Ernest Rutherford 1911

Ernest Rutherford discovered the nucleus in 1911 by using the results of

experiments done by his students Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden. After
discovering the nucleus, he described a new model of the atom called the Planetary
Model. He later discovered the Proton through further experimentation and
analysis.

● Geiger-Marsden Experiment

Geiger and Marsden performed the experiment that led Rutherford to discover
the Nucleus.

● Procedure

They fired alpha particles (heavy positively charged particles) at a gold

foil. They then observed where the alpha particle landed on a special
rotating screen.
 ● Results

They observed that [1] Most (99.88%) went straight through; [2] Few (1%)
were slightly deflected by small angles; and [3] Very Few bounced back.

● Diagram Illustrating Results

● Conclusion

Rutherford used these results to conclude that [1] Most of the atom is
empty space; [2] 99.9% of the mass of the atom is concentrated in a very
small positive place called the nucleus in the centre of the atom; and [3]
the electrons are found in the empty space outside of the nucleus.

● Planetary Model

From the findings above Rutherford came up with a new description of the
atom called the Planetary Model. In this model the sun represented the nucleus
and the planets represented electrons going around the nucleus.
 ● Discovery Of The Proton

Through careful experiments, Rutherford realised that the charges of the

nucleus of other elements were always the whole number multiples the charge
of Hydrogen nucleus. That suggested that hydrogen nucleus had the smallest
unit of charge. He concluded that the Hydrogen nucleus was a single particle
which he called Proton. Since the mass and charge of the hydrogen nucleus
were already known Rutherford also knew the mass and charge of the Proton.

● Shell Model – Niels Bohr 1913

While Rutherford’s planetary Model was great, there were flaws. The Electron
should fall into the nucleus.

Bohr proposed a better Model. It is called the Shell Model. Instead of each electron
having its own orbit, electrons orbited in groups at specific radii called shells.

● Neutron – James Chadwick 1932

When Rutherford measured elements Rutherford realised that the mass was more
than the charge. This meant that there was another particle in the nucleus providing
mass but no charge. He knew that the particle existed but had no evidence to
support it.

Later on James Chadwick did an experiment which detected this neutral particle
being emitted from Beryllium when it was bombarded with Alpha particles.
 ● Comparison of Models

Pool Ball ModelPlum Pudding ModelPlanetary ModelShell Model

● = Electron● = Neutron● = Proton

● Structure

● Properties Of Subatomic Particles

There are three types of particles in the atom (subatomic particles): Protons,
Neutrons and Electrons. The properties are shown below.

Particle Symbol Charge Relative Mass Location

Proton p +1 1836 Nucleus

Neutron n 0 1839 Nucleus

Electron e -1 1 Shell

● Calculating Numbers Of Subatomic Particles

There are relationships between the numbers of subatomic particles. Proton Number
and Electron Number are the same. Proton Number and Neutron Number add up to
give the Mass Number.

● Proton Number (Z): This number is unique for every element. If two atoms
have the same number of protons then they belong to the same element. For
example all atoms with 6 protons are Carbon atoms. If two atoms have
different numbers of protons then they belong to different atoms. An atom with
7 protons is Nitrogen while an atom with 8 protons is oxygen.
 Because of this the Proton Number is also called the Atomic Number.

● Electron Number (E): An atom is neutral – it has no charge. This means that
the number of positive charges is the same as the number of negative charges.
Thus the Electron Number always equal to the Proton Number for a normal
atom. E=Z.

● Mass Number (A): Most of the mass of an atom is in it nucleus. So the Mass
Number is the number of Particles in the Nucleus. Hence another name for
Mass Number is Nucleon Number.

This means that the Mass Number is the sum of the Proton Number and
Neutron Number. A=Z+N

● Neutron Number (N): Both neutrons and protons have mass and are found in
the nucleus. Their total is called the Mass Number.

● Notation

Atom are represented in the form: ZAX . The Mass Number (A) is placed at the top
and the Atomic Number (Z) is placed below.

● Electronic Configuration

The Electronic Configuration is the arrangement of the electron on the various

shells of the atom. The electrons are packed from the innermost shells first and the
remainder is placed on the outer shells. It helps to total as you go. Two is the most
that the first shell can hold. Then the other shells can hold 8 for this level. However
for big atoms the third shell can hold 18 and the fourth can hold 32.

Example: What is the electronic Configuration of Potassium (1939 K ). Potassium

has 19 protons and hence it also has 19 electrons. Shell1 takes 2; Shell2 takes 8;
Shell3 takes 8; and Shell4 takes the remaining 1. So the Electronic Configuration is
2,8,8,1.

This can then be used to draw the diagram.

 ● Diagram

19
p
20
n

When drawing the atom a circle is placed to represent the nucleus. The number of
protons and neutrons are placed inside. The protons and neutrons can also be drawn
as and respectively. Outer circles are drawn to represent each shell. The
electrons are placed on the shell as . Use electronic configuration to get how much
electron on each shell.

An example, Potassium (1939 K ), is shown below. P=19, N=20, E=19 and

E.Config=2,8,8,1.

● Isotopes

The number of protons in the atom of a particular element is the same for all its atoms.
However the number of neutrons can vary for the different atoms of the same element.
For example: while most Carbon atoms have 6p, 6n & 6e, there are some with 6p, 8n &
6e. The first Type of Carbon has a mass number of 12 while the second has a mass
number of 14. Hence their symbols are 6 12 C and 6 14 C respectively. The Different
types of Carbons are called Isotopes of Carbon.

● Definition

Isotopes are different atoms of the same element that have the same number of
protons but different number of neutrons.

OR
 Isotopes are different atoms of the same element with the same Atomic number but
different Mass Number.

● Notation

To differentiate between different isotopes of a element the mass number are

attached the end. So for example the two carbons above are Carbon-12 and Carbon-
14.

● Periodic Table

The Periodic Table is a table of elements in which elements are placed in Rows and
Columns based on the Number of Shells and the Number of Electrons on its Last Shell.
The Rows are called Periods and the Columns are called Groups.

The Period (Row) where an element is placed is its Number of Shells and the Group
(Column) where an element is placed is its Number of electrons on its Last Shell.

For example Potassium has 19 electrons and its Electronic Configuration is 2,8,8,1.
Therefore it has 3 shells and 1 in its last shell. Therefore it is in Period 4 and Group1.

The table below is the periodic Table for the first 20 element. NB: for bigger element it
more complicated than explained above.

Grp Grp Grp Grp Grp Grp Grp Grp

I II III IV V VI VII VIII

Period 1H 2 He
1

Period 3 Li 4 Be 5B 6C 7N 8O 9F 10 Ne
2

Period 11 12 13 Al 14 Si 15 P 16 S 17 Cl 18 Ar
3 Na Mg
 Period 19 K 20 Ca
4

● Questions

The table below show elements and the numbers of the subatomic particles.
Electron Electronic
Element Atomic # Mass # Neutron #
# Config.
Hydrogen 1 1
Carbon 12 6
8 6
Oxygen 8 2,6
Sodium 11 12
Chlorine 35 17
Krypton 2,8,18,8

● Copy and Complete the table above.

● What is the relationship between the second and third elements?

● Draw a diagram to represent any of the elements in the table.

● Which Period (row) and Group (column) of the Periodic Table does Chlorine
belong?

● Nuclear Reactions

● Definition
 A nuclear reaction is a change in the nucleus of an atom. This change can involve the
nucleus giving up a small particle and thus become a different element. It can also
involve the nucleus splitting into two other nuclei. The final way involves two small
nuclei joining to form a larger nucleus.

● Nuclear Equations

● General Format

Nuclear Equations have two main parts separated by an arrow. On the left is the
Reactants (the nuclei that present at the beginning – before the reaction) and on the
right are the Products (the nuclei present at the end – after the reaction). The arrow
represents the reaction (change).
〈 Reactants 〉 → 〈 Products 〉
● Examples
78190 Pt →76186 Os+24 w
94239 Pu+01 n→ 54134 Xe+ 40103 Zr +301 n
12 H+ 13 H → 24 He+01 n
● Balancing Nuclear Equations

To Balance nuclear equation we must ensure that the Mass Number and Atomic
Number on the Left-Side is the same as the Mass Number and Atomic Number on
the Right-Side.

● Example: Balance the Equations below by finding the missing letters.

● a 235 U +01 n →56141 Ba+36 bKr +301 n

a+ 0=56+ 36+0 → a=92

235+1=141+ b+3 ( 1 ) → 236=144+b → b=236−144=92

● 12 H+ 12 H →2 cHe+ d 1 n

2+2=c+1 4=c+1 c=4−1=3

1+1=2+ d 2=2+ d d=2−2=0

● 1228 Mg → e 28 Al±1 fx
 28=28+f f =28−28=0

12=e±1 e=12−−1=13

● Questions: Balance the Equations below by finding the missing letters.

● 11 aNa→ 1224 Mg+ b 0 y

● c 223 Ra → 88 dRn+ 24 z

● 92235 U +01 n →37 eRb+f 143 Cs+201 n

● 13 H +1 gH → h 4 He+201 n

● Radioactivity

● Discovery

● Becquerel

One cloudy day in 1896, Henri Becquerel, a French scientist, made an amazing
discovery. He had rested some uranium samples on a covered photographic
film in a closed drawer for four days. On developing the film, he noticed that
patches of the film had been exposed as if light had struck it. He guessed that
the uranium sample must have been living off something invisible that had
passed through the opaque cover of the film. For a while, the emissions were
called ‘Becquerel’s rays’.

● Rutherford

In 1899, experimenting in Canada, Ernest Rutherford showed that the

emissions that radiated from the uranium compounds were actually of three
kinds. The emissions were given the names alpha (α), beta (β) and gamma (γ)
radiation. The phenomenon of giving off these emissions became known as
radioactivity.

● Marie Curie

Marie Curie and her husband Pierre Curie started conducting experiments on
other substance besides Uranium.
 These experiment revealed the important principle that the rate of radiation
emitted depended only on the amount of radioactive substance present and not
on external factors like temperature.

She was also able to discover the elements Radium and Polonium. Later she
purified Radium. Finally she realized that these three substances, Radium,
Polonium and Thorium, were much more radioactive than Uranium.

● Definition Of Radioactive Decay

Radioactive Decay is the spontaneous disintegration of an unstable nucleus, there

by changing into a different more stable nucleus and releasing a nuclear emission.

Notice that two key things happen. [1] An emission is given off. This is called
radioactive emission or nuclear radiation. [2] The nucleus changes into something
else. For example Carbon can change to Nitrogen by emitting radioactivity.

Radioactive
Emission
Unstable Parent
Nucleus More
Stable
Daught
er
Nucleus

● Rate Of Decay Or Activity

Rate of Decay is a measure of how fast the substance is decaying. It is

therefore the number of particles disintegrating per second. It will also be equal
to the amount of radioactive emissions being given off per second.

Unit = Becquerel (Bq)

For example if 120 nuclei in a sample of radioactive substance decay in 10 s.

Then the Rate of Decay is 120 / 10 = 12 Bq.
 ● Factors Affecting Rate

As said above Pierre and Marie Curie discovered that the Rate of Decay of a
radioactive sample depends only on the Number of Radioactive Particles.

It is NOT affected by other factors such as Temperature, Pressure, Moistness,

Speed, etc.

● Radioactive Decay Curve

As the Radioactive substance in a sample decays the Number of Particles drop.

Since the Rate of Decay depends only on the Number of Particles, then as sample
decays the Rate also drops. Thus the rate will be rapid at the beginning and slower
at the end. Therefore if a graph is drawn for Number of Particles vs Time it will be
Steep
A at the beginning and Gentler at the end. This graph is called a Radioactive
m
Decay
o Curve. Such a graph is shown below.
u
NB:nThe Graph will also be similar for Mass vs Time and Rate of Decay vs Time.
t
(
M
a
s
s
,
N
u
m
b
e
r

o
r

R
a
Tim
t
e e
)
● Radioactive Emissions

● Alpha

An Alpha (α) Particle is a high-speed Helium Nucleus (42He++). Thus it is

packet of 2 Protons and 2 Neutrons moving close to the speed of light.
Therefore its Mass is 4 and its Charge is +2.
 When a Radioisotope decays by Alpha Emission, its Mass Number decrease by
4 and its Atomic Number decreases by 2.

General: ZAX → Z−2 A−4 Y +24 He

Example: 83211 Bi → 81207 Tl+24 He

● Beta

A Beta (β) Particle is a high speed Electron (0-1e) moving close to the speed of
light. Therefore its Mass is 0.002 and its Charge is -1.

When a Radioisotope decays by Beta Emission, a Neutron breaks up into a

Proton and an Electron. The Electron is emitted as the Beta Particle while the
Proton stays in the nucleus. Thus the Proton Number increases by 1, the
Neutron Number decreases by 1 and thus the Mass Number remains the same.

General: ZAX → Z +1 AY ±10 e

Example: 614 C → 714 N±10 e

● Gamma

A Gamma (γ) Particle is a high frequency Electromagnetic Wave. Therefore it

has no mass or charge.

When a Radioisotope decays by Gamma Emission, it simply goes from a

energised atom to a less energised atom. It is usually emitted along with alpha
or beta.

● Comparison
α-Particle β-Particles γ-Rays

Identity Fast Moving Fast Moving High Frequency

Helium Nuclei Electrons (0-1e). Electromagnetic
(42He++). Waves (3×1019Hz).

Mass/u 4 0.0005 0

Charge +2 -1 0

Speed/ms-1 15 million 270 million 300 million

 Stopped By 5cm of Air or a 3m of Air or a Few Thick Slabs of
Sheet of Paper. Millimetres of Concrete or Several
Aluminium. Centimetres of
Lead
5cm

γ
PaperAluminiumLead

Penetration Low Moderate High

Power

Ionising Very Strong Moderate Weak

Power

Path Through Straight Bent Straight

Matter

Deflection by Yes Yes No

a Magnetic
Field α β γ

Deflection By Yes Yes No

an Electric
Field α β γ

● Detecting Radioactive Emissions

Radioactive emissions can be detected by several devices. Two of which are

the Geiger-Muller Tube and the Cloud chamber.
● Geiger-Muller (G-M) Tube

This device detects the ionisation created by radioactive emissions. It

shows the presence of the radiation as well as the Rate or Intensity of the
radiation. Therefore it can be used to find the source of radiation by
moving towards where the rate increases.

It has a tube-like shape and mad of a glass casing. It contains gas at low
pressure. There is a positive rod at the centre of the tube which is
surrounded by a negative cylindrical metal. The gas, which is an insulator
separates the rod from the cylinder so no current can flow.

RadiationG-M TubeOutput System

Speak
Amplif er
ier

When the radioactive emissions enter the tube, they ionise the gas inside
by knocking electrons off them. The electrons move to the positive rod and
create a pulse of current. The current is amplified and sent to a Speaker or
Pulse Counter. If a speaker is used clicks would be heard – the faster the
clicks the higher the Intensity. If a Counter is used, it will display the Rate.

● Cloud Chamber

The device is able to show the path that radioactive emission will take as
they travel. As the radiation travels through it leaves tracks inside the
device. The type of track can tell the type of radiation.

It consists of a Cold Chamber that is fill with Gas and Alcohol vapour. As
the radiation travels through the chamber it ionises the gas. Alcohol vapour
then condenses on the ions to form Cloud-like track (similar to those left
by Jet Planes).
 Alpha creates thick straight tracks because of it high ionising ability and its
heavy mass. Beta creates thin squiggly bent tracks because of it low
ionising ability and light mass. Gamma creates very thin scattered tracks
because of its very low ionising ability and zero mass.

● Radioisotopes

Radioisotope is the shorten form of Radioactive Isotope. Therefore a Radioisotope

is an unstable type of an element which may disintegrate and give off radioactive
emissions.

● Uses

● Smoke Detectors: An alpha source ionises the air and causes current to
flow through it. When smoke is in the air it blocks the alpha particles from
ionising the air. This stops the current from flowing and the alarm sounds.

● Thickness Gauge: A beta source is place on one side of the material as it

moves and a Geiger-Muller Tube is placed on the next side. As long as the
thickness remains consistent the intensity of the radiation that passes
through remains the same. If the thickness drops, then the intensity will
increase, and if the thickness increases then, the intensity drops.
Monitoring the intensity, will help to indicate what happens to the
thickness of the material.

● External Tracer: Small amount of Gamma source can be place on

objects, which then be detected by satellite. This can tell where the object
is.

● Internal Tracer (Diagnosis): Small amount of a beta source can be

injected into a person. The substance is then traced to see where it
accumulates. This can be used to detect diseases such as goitre and cancer.
The radioisotope must have an half-life only a few days so that it last long
enough to trace anf not too long to cause damage. Beta source are used
because Beta is not so damging and it can pass through body tissue.
 ● Find Oil Leaks: Small amounts of a Beta source is placed in the oil. If it
leaks the location of the leak can be found by tracing the radiation.

● Cancer Treatment: Gamma sources can be used to burn cancer cells deep
in the body. The Gamma radiation is aimed at the cancer cells while the
body is rotated. This ensures that the cancer cells always receive radiation
while the body cells receive it only some of the time.

● Sterilising Tools: Gamma rays can be used to kill germs on tools.

● Dangers

● Radiation Sickness: Radiation from radio-isotopes can cause severe

damage to tissue and organs. This lead to acute (short-term) or chronic
(long-term) sickness. This is called Radiation Sickness. This can result in
burns, organ failure and even death. The exposure time does not have to be
long to get radiation sickness, if the intensity is high. When the dosage is
high death usually occurs in a short time – acute radiation sickness. When
the dosage is low, the sickness usually lasts a long time and may not lead
to death chronic radiation sickness.

Signs of radiation sickness include Loss of body hair, Nausea, Fatigue,

Drop in white blood cell count and Sterility.

● Cancer: Exposure to radiation can cause cancer. This is because radiation

damages the DNA of the cells. This sometimes causes the cells to multiply
rapidly and out of control. This results in a tumour (cancerous growth).

● Mutations: Exposure of the Gonads (sex organs) to radiation can cause

small changes to their DNA (mutations). When Sperm or Eggs are
produced to may carry these mutations. Offspring produced from these
mutated sperm or eggs may carry these mutations. For example if the gene
for making hair is changed then a baby can be born with no hair.

● Safety

● Radioactive materials should be handled with tools, such as forceps –

never with bare hands.
 ● Sources should never be pointed towards people or other living organisms.
Sources should never be brought near to the eyes.
● There must be no eating or drinking where radioactive materials are being
used.
● After use, radioactive materials should be stored in lead containers and
placed in a locked, isolated, metal cupboard.
● After using radioactive materials, the user must wash his/her hands
thoroughly before eating.
● Equipment capable of detecting radioactivity must be present to check for
radioactive emissions.

● Half-Life

Recall that there are Three (3) Properties of a radioactive sample that decreases as it
decays. They are its Number of Atoms, Mass and Rate of Decay. From here I will
use the term ‘Amount’ to refer to them.

The time that the Amount of a Sample of a Specific Radioisotope takes to decay to
half remains the same no matter what amount you start with. So if sample of
Iodine-131 takes 8 days to decay from 100g to 50g, it will also take 8 days to decay
from 40g to 20g.

This constant time is called Half-Life. ‘Half-Life is the Time taken for the Amount
of a Radioisotope the decrease to Half of its original amount.”

Every radioisotope has its own half-life. For example the half-life of Iodine-131 is 8
days while that of Carbon-14 is 5600 years.

● Finding Half-life From a Graph

● Examples

● Iodine-131 has a half-life of 8 days. If a sample has a 480 g, calculate the

mass remaining after 40 days.

Always start by finding the number of Half-lives.

# of Half-live = 40/8 = 5
 Do the Decay Diagram: 480g → 240g → 120g → 60g → 30g → 15g.

So after 40 days (5 half-lives) the mass is 15g.

● Phosphorus-32 has a half-life of 14 days. How long will it take for the Rate
to reach 1/8 of its original amount?

1 →1/2 →1/4 → 1/8 So # of Half-lives = 3

Time = 3 × 14 = 42 days.

● A sample of Bismuth-214 is made up of 3.2×1022 atoms. After two hours

the number of atoms is now 5×1020. What is the Half life of Bi-214.

[3.2×1022] → [1.6×1022] → [8.0×1021] → [4.0×1021] → [2.0×1020] →

[1.0×1002] → [5.0×1020]

# of Half-live = 6

Half-life = 2×60/6 = 20 min.

● Table of Common Radioisotopes with Their Half-lives and Emissions

Radio- Half- Emission Product Radio- Half- Emission Product

Isotope Life Isotope Life

Carbon- 5700 Beta Nitrogen-14 Oxygen-19 27 sec Beta Flourine-19

14 yrs
Sodium- 15 hrs Beta Magnesium- Phosphorus-
24 24 32
Cobalt-60 5 yrs Beta Nickel-60 Strontium- 30 yrs Beta Yttrium-90
90
Iodine- 8 dys Beta Xenon-131 Xenon-140 14 sec Beta Caesium-140
131
Lead-191 1 min Alpha Mercury- Bismuth- 2 min Alpha Thallium-207
187 211
Bismuth- 20 Beta Polonium- Polonium- 3 yrs Alpha Lead-204
214 min 214 208
 Polonium- 138 Alpha Lead-206 Radon-220 56 sec Alpha Polonium-
210 dys 216
Radon- 24 Beta Francium- Radium-224 4 dys Alpha Radon-220
223 min 223
Radium- 6 yrs Beta Actinium- Thorium- 1 sec Alpha Radium-220
228 228 224
Thorium- 9 min Alpha Radium-221 Thorium- 24 dys Beta Protactinium-
225 234 234
Uranium- 4×109 Alpha Thorium- Curium-239 2 hrs Alpha Plutonium-
238 yrs 234 235

● Questions

● Nuclear Fission

● Definition Of Nuclear Fission

Some Isotopes of heavy elements can be made unstable by hitting them with
particles like neutrons. When this is done the particles usually splits up.

‘Nuclear Fission is the splitting up of a heavy nucleus into two smaller nuclei.”

When the nucleus splits it ejects two or three neutrons.

● Chain Reactions

The 3 neutrons that are emitted then hit 3 other nuclei. They then emit 3 neutrons
each (9 in all). These 9 neutrons can then hit 9 other nuclei. They would then eject
27 neutrons. This continues until most of the nuclei split up.

This is called a chain reaction. The name is because one event leads to another,
which leads to another, which leads to another, and so on; like a chain. Think of the
Domino Effect.

However if the Mass is too low the neutrons easily escape the surface without
hitting any nuclei (remember the atom is mainly empty space) and therefore the
 reaction stops early. The lowest mass of a substance which can have a chain
reaction is called its Critical Mass.

● Examples
92235 U +01 n →3690 Kr +56144 Ba+201 n
92235 U +01 n →3690 Kr +56143 Ba+301 n
92235 U +01 n →3790 Rb+55143 Cs+301 n
92235 U +01 n →3890 Sr +54143 Xe+301 n
94239 Pu+01 n→ 40103 Zr +54134 Xe+301 n
● Nuclear Fusion

● Definition Of Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear Fusion is the joining (fusing) of small nuclei to form a heavier nucleus.

This is how the Sun and other stars produces energy.

● Examples Of Nuclear Fusion

12 H+ 13 H → 24 He+01 n
23 He+24 He → 47 Be
714 N +24 He → 817 O+ 11 p
● Nuclear Energy

● Explanation

Whenever a nuclear reaction occur a small amount of mass is lost. That means that
the Mass of the Product (mP) is less than the Mass of the Reactants (mR).

This missing or lost is called the Mass Defect or Mass Deficit (Δm).

This mass that is lost goes to form Energy (E).

The Amount of Energy produced can be calculated by the formulas below.

● Formulas
Mass Defect=Mass of Reactants−Mass of Products∨Δ m=mR −mP
NB: If the Masses are∈ Atomic MassUnits ( u ) then Δm must be converted ¿ kg .

Mass Defect∈Kg=Mass Defect∈u × ( 1.66 × 10−27 )

 2 2
Energy =Mass Defect ×c ∨E=Δm ×c
● Table of Common Masses of Nuclides
Nuclide Mass/u Nuclide Mass/u Nuclide Mass/u

e-0 0.00054 n-1 1.00867 p-1 1.00727

H-1 1.00782 H-2 2.0141 H-3 3.01604

He-3 3.01603 He-4 4.0026 Be-7 7.01692

C-14 12.00000 N-14 14.00324 Mg-28 27.98388

Al-28 27.98191 Kr-90 89.91953 Kr-92 91.92617

Rb-90 89.9148 Sr-90 89.90773 Zr-103 102.9272

Nb-98 97.911033 Sb-133 132.91527 Xe-134 133.90539

Xe-143 142.93537 Cs-143 142.92734 Ba-141 140.9144

Ba-143 142.92063 Ba-144 143.92296 Os-188 187.95584

Pt-190 189.95995 Tl-207 206.97742 Bi-211 210.98727

U-233 233.03963 U-235 235.04393 Pu-239 239.05216

● Example

Calculate the energy released in the following nuclear reaction.

94239 Pu+01 n→ 54134 Xe+ 40103 Zr +301 n
Mass of Reactants = 239.05216 + 1.00867 = 240.06083u

Mass of Products = 133.90539 + 102.9272 + 3 (1.00867) = 239.8586u

Mass Defect in u = Mass of Reactants – Mass of Products = 240.06083 – 239.8586 =

0.20223u

Mass Defect in kg (Δm) = 1.66×10-27 × 0.20223 = 3.35702×10-28kg

Energy = Δm × c2 = 3.35702×10-28 × (3×108)2 = 3.02132×10-11J

● Problems
 Calculate the energy released in the nuclear reactions below. Use the data in the
table above.

● 83211 Bi → 81207 Tl +24 He

● 614 C → 714 N±10 e

● 92235 U +01 n →3690 Kr +56143 Ba+301 n

● 12 H+ 13 H → 24 He+01 n

● Nuclear Energy Production and the Nuclear Reactor

Nuclear Energy can be used to produce Electricity. Uranium-235 is the main fuel
used in Nuclear Energy Production. The Uranium produces Nuclear Energy by the
Fission reaction 92235 U +01 n → Products+ Energy . The products may vary. The
converts to Heat and is transferred to water boiling it to Steam. The steam turns an
Electric Generator to produce Electricity.

● Diagram

● Nuclear Reactor Core

 This is where the nuclear energy is produced. It contains Fuel Rods,
Moderators, Control Rods and Coolant. Each part plays its role in producing
Nuclear energy.

The Fuel Rods contain Uranium-235. When the Fuel rods are bombarded with
slow moving neutrons, the Uranium nuclei split up triggering a chain reaction
as discussed above. These nuclear reactions produce a lot of heat.

The Moderators are made of graphite. It helps to slow down the neutron to
ensure that they are captured by the uranium and cause fission. This keeps the
chain reaction going.

The Control Rods are made of Boron. They can absorb neutron. They are move
up or down to speed up or slow down the reaction. Thus they can control the
speed of the reaction. It keeps it steady.

A Coolant (liquid which can store a lot of heat) flow through the core and
absorbs the heat energy. This does two things (1) it keeps the core from
overheating and (2) it transfers Heat Energy to the Heat Exchanger.

Control
Rod
Hot Coolant Out
Moderato
r

Fuel Rod

Cold
Cool
ant
In

● Heat exchanger

When the coolant gets back to the Heat Exchanger, it transfers its heat to water.
The coolant cools down and the water heats up thus changing to steam This is
 why it is called a Heat Exchanger – because the coolant and the water
exchange temperatures. The steam now rushes to the Generator.
Hot Coolant
In

Cold Coolant
Out

● Electric Generator

At the generator the steam turns a turbine. Then turbine turns the Generator.
After which the generator produces electricity.

● Pro And Cons

● Pros (Advantages)

● There is a large reserve (unused sources) of nuclear fuel available. It is

expected to last longer than fossil reserves.

● Nuclear fuels produce much more energy than the same mass of fossil fuel.
The energy produced by 1kg of nuclear fuel would require 50000kg of
fossil fuel to produce.

● Nuclear energy does not produce Greenhouse gases such as Carbon

Dioxide and Methane.

● Cons (Disadvantages)
● Nuclear fuel is radioactive. Even Uranium-235 is not highly radioactive,
many of the other isotopes are very radioactive and are always found with
it. The radiation emitted by them is very dangerous to human health.

● Waste products of nuclear energy production are radioactive and therefore

cannot be dumped. Hence it must be stored.

● Radioisotopes in nuclear waste have very long half-lives and therefore

have to be stored for ten thousands of years before they become safe.

● Technology used in nuclear energy production can be used to produce

nuclear bombs which can be very devastated if exploded. These bombs
cause long-term pollution since they leave radioactive substances where
they explode.