Matching the Content to Your Class

(I was told there would be no math)

Atoms and Isotopes

What are atoms, isotopes, and radioactive decay?

Todays Topics

How is energy stored in an atom?

Atoms and subatomic particles Elements (Periodic Table) Isotopes (Chart of Nuclides) Nuclear forces, stability, and binding energy Radioactive decay

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

Atoms and Subatomic Particles

Atoms are the smallest unit of a chemical element that has all the chemical properties of that element. Made up of:
Protons positive charge Neutronsno charge Electronsnegative charge

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

The Periodic Table of the Elements

Group** Period
1 IA 1A
1

18
VIIIA

8A 2 IIA 2A
4

H
1.008 3

13 14 15 16 17 IIIA IVA VA VIA VIIA 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A

5 6 7 8 9

He
4.003 10

Li
6.941 11

Be
9.012 12 24.31

B
8 9 10 11 12 3 4 5 6 7 IIIB IVB VB VIB VIIB ------- VIII --- IB IIB ---3B 4B 5B 6B 7B 1B 2B ------- 8 ------21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 13

C
14

N O
15 16

F
17

Ne
20.18 18

10.81 12.01 14.01 16.00 19.00

Na Mg
22.99 19 20

Al Si
31 32

P
33

S
34

Cl
35

Ar
39.95 36

26.98 28.09 30.97 32.07 35.45

K
39.10 37

Ca
40.08 38

Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br
44.96 47.88 50.94 52.00 54.94 55.85 58.47 58.69 63.55 65.39 69.72 72.59 74.92 78.96 79.90 39 40 41 42 43 (98) 75 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53

Kr
83.80 54

Rb
85.47 55

Sr
87.62 56 137.3 88 (226)

Y
57

Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te
72 73 74 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84

I
85

Xe
131.3 86 (222) 118

88.91 91.22 92.91 95.94

101.1 102.9 106.4 107.9 112.4 114.8 118.7 121.8 127.6 126.9

Cs
132.9 87

Ba La* Hf Ta W Re Os
89 104 105 106 107 108

Ir
109

Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
110 () 111 () 112 () 114 116

138.9 178.5 180.9 183.9 186.2 190.2 190.2 195.1 197.0 200.5 204.4 207.2 209.0 (210) (210)

Fr
(223)

Ra Ac~ Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt --- --- --(227) (257) (260) (263) (262) (265) (266)

--()

--()

--()

Lanthanide Series*

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
140.1 140.9 144.2 (147) 150.4 152.0 157.3 158.9 162.5 164.9 167.3 168.9 173.0 175.0 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103

Actinide Series~ Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
232.0 (231) (238) (237) (242) (243) (247) (247) (249) (254) (253) (256) (254) (257)

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

Reading Atomic Notations

A Z

XN

Z is the atomic (proton) number N is the neutron number A is the mass number (N+Z) X is the chemical element symbol
Atoms and Isotopes 6

The Harnessed Atom

Isotopes

Atoms of one element may have different number of neutrons: the different possible versions of each element are called isotopes. Isotopes of one element all have the same number of protons (atomic number, Z) but different numbers of neutrons (thus different atomic weights, A).

Every element has several isotopes

All isotopes are shown on the chart of the nuclides.

7

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

Isotopes of the element sodium 11 protons Isotopes of the element oxygen 8 protons

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

Nuclear Forces

Weak Nuclear Forces

Particles with like charges repel. This causes electrons to orbit around the nucleus.

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

Nuclear Forces

Strong Nuclear Forces

Particles in the nucleus actually are held together by an even stronger attractive force. Acts only at very short distances (about 10-15m)beyond this distance, the strong nuclear force is negligible.
10

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

Nuclear Forces
Two protons more than 10-15m will repel each other by their like charges. Inside a nucleus, the distances are small enough that the strong nuclear force overcomes the weak repulsive force, holding the protons and neutrons together.

11

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

Nuclear Forces
Big Idea of Science:
There are only four known forces in nature:
1. 2.

3.
4.

Gravity Electromagnetism Weak Nuclear Force Strong Nuclear Force

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

12

Think about it

How might a higher number of neutrons change the balance between the repulsive and attractive forces in a nucleus? How might a lower number of neutrons affect this same balance?

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

13

Nuclear Stability

The stability of an atom is the balance of the repulsive and attractive forces within the nucleus (strong and weak force in equilibrium).

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

14

Nuclear Stability
If

the attractive strong forces prevail, the nucleus is stable.

If

the repulsive weak forces outweigh the attraction of the strong forces, the nucleus is unstable.

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

15

Nuclear Stability

For elements with low atomic numbers, atoms are stable when their neutron to proton ratio is close to one (1:1).

As atomic number increases, stable atoms have ratios greater than one (1:1.5).
This is because at higher atomic numbers, more neutrons are needed to counteract the repulsive forces between the protons.
Atoms and Isotopes 16

The Harnessed Atom

Nuclear Stability

The shaded cluster is the band of stability. The solid line represents a neutronto-proton ratio of 1:1. Nuclei to the right of the band of stability dont have enough neutrons to remain stable. Nuclei to the left of the band have too many neutrons to remain stable.

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

17

Nuclear Binding Energy

The energy stored in the bonds within an atom Released when an atom breaks apart Represented by the equation:
Eb (MeV) = (Zmp + Nmn MA) x 931.494 MeV/amu Where:

1 amu = 1.66 x 10-24 grams [amu = atomic mass unit] Eb= binding energy Zm= mass of the protons in amu Nm= mass of neutrons MA= mass of the atom MeV= millions of electron volts, a unit of measure used to represent the energy in nuclear equations
Atoms and Isotopes 18

The Harnessed Atom

Radioactive Decay

Unstable atoms will spontaneously transform until they reach a stable configuration. These transformations are accompanied by releases of energy.

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

19

Radioactive Decay

This energy, given off in waves from an atom, is known as radiation.

Substances that give off radiation are called radioactive. The process of isotopes emitting particles and energy to become more stable is called radioactive decay.

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

20

Radioactive Decay

Main types of radioactive decay:

Alpha emission Beta emission Positron emission Gamma emission

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

21

Radioactive Decay
Alpha emission () Nucleus emits an alpha particletwo protons and two neutrons Equivalent to a helium nucleus (He).

238 92

U Th + He
Atoms and Isotopes 22

234 90

4 2

Alpha Decay Animation http://ie.lbl.gov/education/glossary/AnimatedDecays/AlphaDecay.html

The Harnessed Atom

Radioactive Decay
Beta Emission () Nucleus emits an electron, and a neutron is converted to a proton.

131 53

I Xe + e
Atoms and Isotopes 23

131 54

0 -1

Beta Decay Animations: http://ie.lbl.gov/education/glossary/AnimatedDecays/Beta-Decay.html

The Harnessed Atom

Radioactive Decay
Positron Emission Nucleus emits a positron (identical to an electron in mass, but has a positive charge)

11 6

C B+ e

11 5

0 1

Positron is formed when a proton converts to a neutron.

Atoms and Isotopes 24

The Harnessed Atom

Radioactive Decay
Gamma emission ()

Nuclei seeking lower energy states emit electromagnetic radiation, which is in the gamma ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Rays are emitted in conjunction with another type of decay (alpha or beta).

Gamma Decay http://ie.lbl.gov/education/glossary/AnimatedDecays/GammaDecay.html Additional animations: http://ie.lbl.gov/education/glossary/Glossary.htm

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

25

Radioactive Decay Chains

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

26

Half Life

The amount of time it takes for half of the atoms of a given isotope to decay to another form is known as its half-life. The value can be from fractions of a second to billions of years.

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

27

Half Life
Half-life values are constant. There is no way to speed up or slow down this natural process. Cannot predict when a specific atom will decay. Can predict the number of atoms that will decay in a certain time period.

The Harnessed Atom Atoms and Isotopes 28

Half Life of Uranium-235

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

29

Words to Know

Alpha decay Atom Beta decay Chart of Nuclides Coulombs force Electron Electron capture Element Gamma decay Half-Life Isotope

Neutron Nuclear force Nucleus Nuclide Periodic Table Positron Proton Radiation Radioactive Decay Stability

The Harnessed Atom

Atoms and Isotopes

30

The Ah Ha! Moment

Interdisciplinary Content Fact, Opinion, Bias, and Critical Thinking

Tell Us How You Teach This