Nuclear Reactions

Natural Transmutation
1 term on reactant side
Original isotope
2 terms on product side
Emitted Particle
New Isotope

Happens all by itself (spontaneous)

Not affected by anything in environment
 Natural Transmutation

16N  0e + 16O
7 -1 8

1 term on 2 terms on
reactant side product side
 Artificial Transmutation
• Cause it to happen by smashing
particles into one another

• 2 terms on reactant side

• Original Isotope
• Particle that hits it
–neutron, proton, or -particle

• Product side: usually 2 terms

 Artificial Transmutation

27Al + 4He  30P + 1n

13 2 15 0

Original isotope “Bullet”

or target nucleus -what hits isotope
 Artificial Transmutation
27Al + 4He  30P + 1n
13 2 15 0 All of these
equations have
14N + 42He  17O + 11H
7 8 2 reactants!

75As + 4He  78Br + 1n

33 2 35 0

37Cl + 1n  38 Cl
17 0 17
 Bombarding with Protons or 
Protons and -particles have positive charge and
mass
• do some damage when hit target nucleus
• must be accelerated to high speeds to overcome
repulsive forces between nucleus & particle (both are
+)
 What is an accelerator?
• vacuum chamber (usually a long pipe)
– surrounded by vacuum pumps, magnets, radio-
frequency cavities, high voltage instruments and
electronic circuits
• inside the pipe particles are accelerated to
very high speeds then smashed into each
other
 Fission Reaction
 Splitting heavy nucleus into 2 lighter nuclei

 Requires a critical mass of fissionable isotope

Controlled – nuclear reactor
Uncontrolled – bomb
 Fission
Reactant side: 2 terms
• 1 heavy isotope (examples: U-235 or Pu-239)
• Bombarding particle – usually a neutron
• Product side: at least 2 terms
• 2 medium-weight isotopes
• 1 or more neutrons
• Huge amount of energy is released
• Fission = Division
 Fission
235U + 1n  91Kr + 142Ba + 31n + energy
92 0 36 56 0

235U + 1n  72Zn + 160 Sm + 4 1n + energy

92 0 30 62 0

More than 200 different product isotopes

identified from fission of U-235

A small amount of mass is converted to

energy according to E = mc2
Fission Chain Reaction
 Fusion
• Reactant side has 2 small nuclei:
– H + H; H + He; He + He
• Product side:
– 1 nucleus (still small) and maybe a particle
• Source of sun’s energy
• 2 nuclei unite

2H + 3H  4He + 1n + energy
1 1 2 0
 CERN

27 kilometer ring

•Particles travel just below

speed of light

•In 10 hrs: particles make 400

million revolutions of the ring
 FermiLab

4 miles in circumference!
Balancing Nuclear
Equations
 Nuclear Equations - tasks

• Identify type (4 types)

• Balance to find 1 unknown term

 Natural Transmutation – ID

• 1 term on reactant side

– starting isotope

• 2 terms on product side

– ending isotope and emitted particle

• Type of particle emitted characteristic

of isotope – Table N
 Nuclear Equations

• To balance: use conservation of both

atomic number & mass number

• Mass number = left superscript

• Atomic Number = left subscript

Balancing Nuclear Equations

16N  0e + 16O
7 -1 8

Conservation of mass number:

16 = 0 + 16
Conservation of atomic number:
7 = -1 + 8
 Writing Equations
• Write the equation for the decay of
Thorium-232
• Use Table N to find the decay mode: α
• Write the initial equation:
232Th  4He + X
90 2
figure out
what element
it turned into
Write an equation for the α
decay of Am-241

241 Am  4He + YX
95 2 Z

What’s X?
 232 = 4 + Y so Y = 228

232Th  4He + Y
X
90 2 Z

Conservation of Mass Number:

sum of mass numbers on left side must =

sum of mass numbers on right side
 232Th
90
 42He + 228
Z
X

90 = 2 + Z so Z = 88
Conservation of Atomic Number:

sum of atomic numbers on left side must =

sum of atomic numbers on right side
232Th  4He + 228X
90 2 88

Use the PT to find X: X = Ra

232Th  4He + 228Ra
90 2 88
 Alpha (α) decay:
233U  229Th + 4He
92 90 2

232Th  228Ra + 4He

90 88 2

175Pt  171Os + 4He

78 76 2
 How does the mass number or atomic
number change in α,β or γ decay?
• go to Table N:
– find isotope that decays by alpha or β decay
– write the equation
– see how the mass number (or atomic number)
changes
• 226 Ra  4  + X so X has to be 222 X
88 2 86

• X is Rn-222
– mass number decreases by 4; atomic number
decreases by 2
Write an equation for the 
decay of Am-241
241 = 4 + Y so Y = 237
241 Am  4He + YX
95 2 Z

95 = 2 + Z so Z = 93
What’s X? X = Np
 Radioactive Decay Series
• Sometimes 1 transmutation isn’t enough
to achieve stability

• Some radioisotopes go through several

changes before they achieve stability
(and are no longer radioactive)
 β- 14C  147 N + 0e
6 -1

β+ 18F  18 O + 0e
9 8 +1
 How does the mass number or atomic
number change in  or  decay?

• Go to Table N; find an isotope that decays by α,

 or , write the equation; see how the mass
number (or atomic number) changes
• 226Ra  4 + X so X has to be 222X
88 2 86

• X is Ra-222
– mass number decreases by 4
– atomic number decreases by 2