Radioactive Decay Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Radioactive Decay Deck (13)
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1
Q

What are the three types of radioactive decay?

A
  1. alpha (α)
  2. beta (β): positron emission and electron capture
  3. gamma (γ)
2
Q

What is half-life (T½)?

A

Amount of time it takes for half of ALL the radioactive nuclei to decay into their daughter nuclei.

3
Q

An alpha particle is similar to what?

A

Helium nucleus (2 protons and 2 neutrons).

4
Q

What occurs during alpha decay (α decay)?

A

An unstable nucleus releases 2 protons and 2 neutrons.

5
Q

What occurs during beta decay (β-decay)?

A

A neutron is broken down into a proton, which creates a beta particle.

6
Q

What occurs during gamma decay (γ-decay)?

A

Gamma-rays, high-energy (high-frequency) photons are emitted with NO mass or charge.

7
Q

What are the changes that occur during gamma decay?

A
  1. mass number stays the same
  2. atomic number stays the same
8
Q

What changes occur during positron emission?

A
  1. mass number stays the same
  2. atomic number decreases by 1
9
Q

What changes occur during beta decay?

A
  1. mass number stays the same
  2. atomic number increases by 1
10
Q

What are the two types of beta decay?

A
  1. positron emission
  2. electron capture
11
Q

For radioactive decay, what do semi log plots plot?

A

The logarithm of amount of atoms as a function of time.

12
Q

What is radioactive decay?

A

Spontaneous decay of atoms to stablize the nucleus.

13
Q

Which type of radioactive decay is the strongest? Weakest?

A

Gamma decay: strongest

Alpha decay: weakest