nuclear reactions

• what does the nucleus of an atom contain

  protons and neutrons
• what is the atomic number and what does it identify

  the number of protons in the nucleus. it identifies the element
• what is the mass number, and what does it identify

  the total number of protons plus the total number of neutrons in the nucleus. it identifies the isotope of the element
• what is an isotope

  an isotope of an element has the same number of protons but a differet number of neutrons
• are the chemical reactions of isotopes of an element the same or different

  chemical reactions are the same
• are the nuclear reacyions of isotopes of an element the same or different

  nuclear reactions are different
• is the mass number on the top or the bottom

  top
• is the atomic number on the top or the bottom

  bottom
• name the 3 types of nuclear decay

  alpha

  beta

  gamma
• what happens if an isotope is unstable

  it undergoes spontaneous nuclear decay
• what is alpha decay

  the nucleus emits a particle with two protons and two neutrons called an alpha particle
• what happens to the mass number during alpha decay

  decreases by 4
• what happens to the atomic number during alpha decay

  decreases by 2
• what are alpha particles sometimes represented as

  helium nuclei
• what is beta decay

  a neutron decays to become a proton, resulting in a beta particle and a neutrino being emitted by the neutron
• what is a beta particle

  a fast moving electron
• what happens to the mass number during beta decay

  stays the same
• what happens to the atomic number during beta decay

  increases by 1
• what is gamma emission

  when an isotope emits a high energy photon of electromagnetic radiation
• what happens to atomic and mass number during gamma radiation

  nothing
• what is nuclear fission

  when a larger nucleus splits into 2 smaller nuclei
• what is an induced nuclear fission

  A large nucleus is bomarded with neutrons and absorbs one of them. This make the nucleus unstable and causes it to split, releasing more neutrons. This can trigger a chain reaction
• what is nuclear fusion

  2 small nuclei join together to make a larger nucleus, releasing energy
• what is binding energy

  the energy that is needed to keep the protons and neutrons together in the nucleus
• why is mass lost during nuclear reactions

  mass is converted into energy
• A fusion reaction requires the raw materials, hydrogen to be at very high temperatures and pressures.

  In these conditions the gas becomes a plasma
• what happens when gas becomes a plasma


  electrons become disassociated from their parent atoms, meaning that all matter in the reactor will be charged
• what is required to achieve the required pressure in a magnetic field


  strong magnetic fields are used to cotain the plasma and control its path

  "to squeeze" it
• Stars

  The process of nuclear fusion occurs in the cores of stars, where protons combine to form helium, releasing energy
• an alpha particle is the same in nature as

  a helium nucleus
• A beta particle is the same in nature as which of the following?

  a fast moving electron
• What is used in order to control and contain the high energy, charged particles in a fusion reactor?

  magnetic fields
• What property of the particles allows the use of magnetic fields to control them inside a fusion reactor?

  Charge
• mass-energy equivalence

  the mass lost is converted to energy