25.

2 Nuclear
Transformations
Nuclear
Stability and>Decay

What determines the type of

decay a radioisotope
undergoes?

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations > Nuclear Stability and

Decay

A nucleus may be unstable and undergo

spontaneous decay for different reasons.

The neutron-to-proton ratio in

a radioisotope determines
the type of decay that occurs.

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

The nuclear force is an attractive

force that acts between all nuclear
particles that are extremely close
together, such as protons and
neutrons in a nucleus.
At these short distances, the nuclear force
dominates over electromagnetic repulsions and
holds the nucleus together.
3

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear
Transformations >
Band
of Stability.

Interpret Data

The stability of a nucleus depends on

the ratio of neutrons to protons.
This graph
shows the
number of
neutrons vs. the
number of
protons for all
known stable
nuclei.

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

Interpret Data

For elements of low

atomic number
(below about 20),
this ratio is about 1.
Above atomic
number 20, stable
nuclei have more
neutrons than
protons.
5

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations > Nuclear Stability and

Decay

Some nuclei are unstable because they

have too many neutrons relative to the
number of protons.
When one of these nuclei decays, a neutron
emits a beta particle (fast-moving electron) from
the nucleus.
A neutron that emits an electron becomes a proton.
1
0

1
1

0
1

This process is known as beta emission.

It increases the number of protons while

decreasing the number of neutrons.

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations > Nuclear Stability and

Decay

Radioisotopes that undergo beta emission

include the following.
66
29

Cu

66
30

14
6

14
7

Zn +
N +

0
1

0
1

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations > Nuclear Stability and

Decay

Other nuclei are unstable because they

have too few neutrons relative to the
number of protons.
These nuclei increase their stability by
converting a proton to a neutron.
An electron is captured by the nucleus during this
process, which is called electron capture.
59
28
37
18

Ni +

0
1

Ar +

0
1

59
27

Co

37
17

Cl

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations > Nuclear Stability and

Decay

A positron is a particle with the mass of an

electron but a positive charge.
Its symbol is

0
+1

e.

During positron emission, a proton changes to a

neutron, just as in electron capture.
8
5
15
8

8
4

15
7

Be +
N +

0
+1
0
+1

the atomic number decreases by 1 and the number

of neutrons increases by 1.
9

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations > Nuclear Stability and

Decay

Nuclei that have an atomic number

greater than 83 are radioactive.
These nuclei have both too many neutrons and
too many protons to be stable.
Therefore, they undergo radioactive decay.

Most of them emit alpha particles.

Alpha emission increases the neutron-to-proton
ratio, which tends to increase the stability of the
nucleus.
10

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations > Nuclear Stability and

Decay

In alpha emission, the mass number

decreases by four and the atomic number
decreases by two.
226
88
232
90

11

Ra

222
86

Th

228
88

Rn +

4
2

He

Ra +

4
2

He

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations > Nuclear Stability and

Decay

Recall that conservation of mass is an

important property of chemical reactions.

In contrast, mass is not conserved

during nuclear reactions.
An extremely small quantity of mass
is converted into energy released
during radioactive decay.
12

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

During nuclear decay, if the atomic

number decreases by one but the mass
number is unchanged, the radiation
emitted is
A. a positron.
B. an alpha particle.
C. a beta particle.
D. a proton.
13

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

During nuclear decay, if the atomic

number decreases by one but the mass
number is unchanged, the radiation
emitted is
A. a positron.
B. an alpha particle.
C. a beta particle.
D. a proton.
14

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

Half-Life

How much of a radioactive

sample remains after each halflife?

15

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

Half-Life

Section 15.4 & Screen 15.8

HALF-LIFEisthetimeittakesfor1/2a

sampleisdisappear.
Therateofanucleartransformationdepends
onlyonthereactantconcentration.
ConceptofHALFLIFEisespeciallyusefulfor
1storderreactions.

16

Half-Life

Decay of 20.0 mg of 15O. What remains after 3

half-lives? After 5 half-lives?

17

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

Interpret Graphs

A half-life (t12) is the time required for onehalf of the nuclei in a radioisotope sample to
decay to products.
After each halflife, half of the
original
radioactive
atoms have
decayed into
atoms of a new
element.
18

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear
Transformations >
Comparing
Half-Lives

Half-lives can be as short as a second or

as long as billions of years.
Half-Lives of Some Naturally Occurring Radioisotopes
Isotope

19

Half-life

Radiation emitted

Carbon-14

5.73 103 years

Potassium-40

1.25 109 years

Radon-222

3.8 days

Radium-226

1.6 103 years

Thorium-234

24.1 days

Uranium-235

7.0 108 years

Uranium-238

4.5 109 years

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations > Half-Life

Comparing Half-Lives

Scientists use half-lives of some longterm radioisotopes to determine the age

of ancient objects.
Many artificially produced radioisotopes
have short half-lives, which makes them
useful in nuclear medicine.
Short-lived isotopes are not a longterm radiation hazard for patients.
20

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear
Transformations > Half-Life
Comparing
Half-Lives
Uranium-238 decays through a complex series of
unstable isotopes to the stable isotope lead-206.
The age of uraniumcontaining minerals can be
estimated by measuring
the ratio of uranium-238 to
lead-206.
Because the half-life of
uranium-238 is 4.5 109
years, it is possible to use
its half-life to date rocks as
old as the solar system.
21

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations

> Half-Life
Radiocarbon
Dating

Plants use carbon dioxide to produce

carbon compounds, such as glucose.
The ratio of carbon-14 to other carbon isotopes
is constant during an organisms life.
When an organism dies, it stops exchanging
carbon with the environment and its radioactive
14
6 C atoms decay without being replaced.
Archaeologists can use this data to estimate
when an organism died.

22

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations > Half-Life

Exponential Decay Function

You can use the following equation to

calculate how much of an isotope will
remain after a given number of half-lives.
A = A0

1
2

A stands for the amount remaining.

A0 stands for the initial amount.
n stands for the number of half-lives.
23

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations > Half-Life

Exponential Decay Function

A = A0

1
2

The exponent n indicates how many times A0

1
must be multiplied by 2 to determine A.

24

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

Sample Problem 25.1

Using Half-Lives in Calculations

Carbon-14 emits beta radiation and decays with a
half-life (t 12 ) of 5730 years. Assume that you start
with a mass of 2.00 1012 g of carbon-14.
a. How long is three half-lives?
b. How many grams of the
isotope remain at the end of
three half-lives?

25

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

Sample Problem 25.1

1 Analyze List the knowns and the unknowns.

To calculate the length of three half-lives,
multiply the half-life by three.
To find the mass of the radioisotope
remaining, multiply the original mass by 12 for
each half-life that has elapsed.
KNOWNS

UNKNOWNS

3 half-lives = ? years

t 1 = 5730 years
2

initial mass (A0) = 2.00 1012 g

mass remaining = ? g

number of half-lives (n) = 3

26

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

Sample Problem 25.1

2 Calculate Solve for the unknowns.

a. Multiply the half-life of carbon-14 by
the total number of half-lives.
t 12 n = 5730 years 3 = 17,190 years

27

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

Sample Problem 25.1

2 Calculate Solve for the unknowns.

b. The initial mass of carbon-14 is
reduced by one-half for each half-life.
So, multiply by 12 three times.
Remaining mass = 2.00 10

12

1 1
g 2 2

= 0.250 1012 g
= 2.50 1013 g

28

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

1
2

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

Sample Problem 25.1

2 Calculate Solve for the unknowns.

b. You can get the same answer by
using the equation for an exponential
decay function.

()

A = A0

()
g) ( )

1 n
12
2 = (2.00 10 g)

= (2.00 10

12

1 3
2
1
8

= 0.250 1012 g
= 2.50 1013 g
29

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

The half-life of phosphorus-32 is

14.3 days. How many milligrams of
phosphorus-32 remain after 100.1
days if you begin with 2.5 mg of the
radioisotope?

30

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

The half-life of phosphorus-32 is

14.3 days. How many milligrams of
phosphorus-32 remain after 100.1
days if you begin with 2.5 mg of the
radioisotope?
1 half-life
n = 100.1 days 14.3 days = 7 half-lives

()

A = A0
31

()
( ) = 2.0 10

1 7
2
1
= (2.5 mg) 128

1 n
2 = (2.5 mg)

mg

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations >

Which of the following always changes

when transmutation occurs?

A. The number of electrons

B. The mass number
C. The atomic
atomicnumber
number
D. The number of neutrons
32

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

25.2 Nuclear Transformations > Key Equation

A = A0

33

1
2

Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

Kinetics of Radioactive Decay

Activity(A)=Disintegrations/timeActivity
(A)=(k)(N)
whereNisthenumberofatoms
Decayisfirstorder,andso

ln(A/Ao)=kt
Thehalflifeof
radioactivedecayist1/2=0.693/k

34

35

36