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Nuclear Reaction Practice Balance  the  following  reactions  by  identifying  the  missing  Particle  in  the  Chain   Reaction  listed  below.   1.  

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2.  

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Balance the following bombardment reactions: 1. Bombardment of cobalt-59 with a neutron produces cobalt-60

2. Bombardment of aluminum-27 with an alpha particle to produce phosphorus-30 and one other particle

3. Bombardment of Plutonium-239 with a neutron produces americium-240 and one other particle

4. Plutonium-239 can be produced along with three other particles by bombarding uranium-238 with an alpha particle

5. With what particle would you bombard sulfur-32 to produce hydrogen-1 and phosphorus-32? Write the nuclear equation.

6. With what particle would you bombard bismuth-209 to produce astatine-211 and 2 neutrons?

7. Neutron bombardment of Uranium-235 splits the Uranium into tellurium-137, zirconium-97 and two other particles.

8. Neutron bombardment of lithium-6 produce an alpha particle and one other particle.

9. Write the nuclear equation. Alpha-particle bombardment of plutonium-239 produces a neutron and another isotope.

10. Plutonium-238 can also be produced by a two step process. First uranium-238 is bombarded with deuterium to produce neptunium-238 and two neutrons. Then the neptunium decays to produce plutonium-238.

11. Bombardment of curium-246 with carbon-13 to produce nobelium-254 and five other particles

12. Bi-211 is a radioisotope. It decays by alpha emission to yield another radioisotope, which emits beta radiation as it decays to a stable isotope. Write equations for the nuclear reactions and name the decay products.

13. What isotope remains after three beta particles and five alpha particles are lost from thorium-234 isotope.

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More Nuclear Reaction Balancing Balance the following nuclear decay equations: 1) Hydrogen-3 decays by beta emission. 2) Thorium-232 decays by alpha emission.

3) Barium-137 and a beta particle are formed from a decaying element.

4) Radon-222 and an alpha particle are formed from a decaying element.

5) Protactinium-234 (Pa) undergoes both alpha and beta decay.

6) Nitrogen-14 plus an alpha particle produces a proton and another atom.

7) Uranium-238 is bombarded with an alpha particle producing Plutonium-239 and some neutrons.

8) Carbon-12 is bombarded by an alpha particle creating another element and a neutron.

9) Hydrogen-3 is combined with Hydrogen-2 to produce Helium-4 and another particle.

10) Uranium-235 is bombarded by a neutron and splits into Barium-141, another element, and three neutrons.

11) Sodium-24 is bombarded by a proton and creates another element and releases a neutron.

12) Plutonium-244 was bombarded with Nitrogen-13 to produce a new element and releasing a neutron. page 8

Harnessing the Nucleus 1. Define nuclear fission.

2. Define nuclear chain reaction.

3. Would the radioactive decay of a naturally occurring isotope be a good choice for a nuclear power plant? Explain.

4. Briefly describe the contributions of Fermi and Meitner in the discovery of nuclear fission.

5. How is a runaway nuclear reaction prevented in a nuclear power plant?

6. What are some of the reasons that some people are against nuclear fission power plants?

2

7. How does E = mc describe a nuclear fission reaction?

For each of the following nuclear accidents, explain what happened. 8. Three Mile Island

9. Chernobyl, Ukraine

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Nuclear Power Plants Many nuclear power plants dependent on the controllable fission of uranium-235. The enormous amount of generated from this fission reaction is transferred via a pressure water system to a secondary circulation system. Water within this low-pressure system is boiled to gas. As it rapidly its energy is used to cause huge turbine blades to turn. turning blades cause the spin a shaft that drives an generator. Steam that has energy is cooled in the the low pressure system.

in operation today are

heat high

expands, These shaft to electric lost condenser and recirculated within

Using the above information and this diagram answer the following questions: _____ 1. The fuel rods contain which of the following? a. uranium ore b. enriched U-235 c. enriched U-232

d. deuterium and tritium

_____ 2. The primary purpose of the control rods is to _______________. a. supply low-voltage neutrons c. filter the high pressure water b. initiate the fission reaction d. absorb excess neutrons _____ 3. The high pressure water system is usually encased in concrete shielding. This shielding _______. a. acts as a thermal insulator b. prevents ionization by background radiation c. protects personnel from exposure to radiation d. protects against earth’s movement _____ 4. Although the temperature within the high pressure system may reach 300°C, water remains in the liquid state because of ________________________. a. the properties of radioactive water b. limited space for expansion c. efficiency of the condenser d. concrete shielding _____ 5. The function of the generator is to convert ________________________. a. kinetic energy of steam into electrical energy b. electrical energy to kinetic energy c. steam to liquid water d. liquid water to steam page 10

Nuclear Fusion 1. Define nuclear fusion.

2. What is a tokamak?

3. Write the equation for a nuclear fusion reaction.

4. Why do scientist believe nuclear fusion is superior to fission?

5. What makes nuclear fusion so hard to achieve?

6. Why are nuclear fusion reactions called thermonuclear reactions?

Half-Life Problems 1. The half-life of cesium-137 is 30.2 years. If the initial mass of a sample of cesium-137 is 1.000 kg, how many grams will remain after 151 years?

2. A sample that contained 24 grams of C-14 when alive now as a fossil contains 1.5 grams. How old is the fossil?

3. A 64 gram sample of germanium-66 is left undisturbed for 12.5 hours. At the end of that period, only 2.0 grams remain. What is the half-lie of germanium-66?

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4. With a half-life of 28.8 years, how long will it take for 1.00 g of strontium-90 to decay to 125 mg?

5. Cobalt-60 has a half-life of 5.3 years. If a pellet that has been in storage for 26.5 years contains 14.5 grams of Cobalt-60, how much Cobalt-60 was present when the pellet was put in storage?

6. A 1.000 kg block of phosphorous-32, which has a half-life of 14.3 days, is stored for 100.1 days. How much phosphorous-32 remains at the end of this period.

7. A sample of air is collected from a basement to test for the presence of radon-222, which has a half-life of 3.8 days. However, delays prevent the sample from being tested until 7.6 days later. Measurements indicate the presence of 6.5 µg of radon-222. How much radon-222 was present in the sample when it was initially collected?

8. The half-life of sodium-25 is 1.0 minutes. If you start with 1.00 kg. How many grams will remain after 3.75 minutes?

9. A 0.500 kg sample of iodine-131, which has a half-life of 8.0 days, is prepared. After 42 days, how much iodine is present?

10. What is the half-life of polonium-214 if, after 825 seconds a 1.00 grams sample decays to 31.25 mg?

11. The radioisotope cesium-137 has a half-life or 30 years. A sample of Cs-137 contains 544 grams in 1985. In what year will there be only 27 grams left.

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Biological Effect of Radiation Curie dosimeter (film badge) Geiger counter genetic damage REM somatic damage 1. The unit of measurement most commonly used to measure radiation exposure in humans is the __________. 2. Damage to an organism that has received radiation directly is called ____________________. 3. A ____________________ is an instrument that measures the total amount of radiation to which a

person has been exposed. 4. A ____________________ is an instrument that detects and counts ionizing particles. 5. ____________________ may result in the birth of deformed offspring. 6. One ____________________ is equal to the number of nuclear disintegrations per second from one gram

of radium. 7. Describe how a dosimeter (film badge) works.

8. Why does ionizing radiation damage living tissue?

9. Give two examples of somatic radiation damage.

10. What causes the audible “click“ or “beep” made by a Geiger counter?

11. Name two radiotracer isotopes and what they are used for.

12. How can radiation be useful in treating cancer?

13. What types of side effects result from radiation therapy? Explain why these side effects occur.

14. Why is radiation an effective treatment for preserving fruits and vegetables? page 13

Review Activity - Nuclear Chemistry alpha particle Curie gamma ray nuclear reaction radioactivity transmutation

Becquerel Einstein induced radioactivity nucleus radioisotope transuranium element

beta particle energy moderator particle accelerator Roentgen X-ray

control rod fission neutron radioactive decay Rutherford

critical mass fusion nuclear fuel radioactive series thermonuclear device

Our understanding of atomic structure is advanced by studies of changes in the central region, or _____________ of the atom. In 1895, a kind of invisible electromagnetic wave, called a(n) ____________, that could darken photographic film, was discovered by _________________. Then ___________ discovered that uranium gives off radiation that can do the same thing. The process involved in this case turned out to be a nuclear change that resulted in ________________, or a change of one element into another. This nuclear process, which releases particles and energy, is called ___________ or __________. The radioactive elements polonium and radium were later isolated from uranium ore by _______________. Radiation from these and other elements was studied by ____________, who found that there were three possible types of radiation. A helium nucleus released during radioactive decay is called a(n) _________ ___________. A released electron is called a(n) _______ ____________. A wave of short wavelength electromagnetic radiation that is released is called a(n) _________ ______. An atom whose center is unstable is called a(n) ____________. Any change in an atom’s center is called a(n) __________ _______. A new atom formed from such a change may also be unstable. A chain of elements formed as a result of successive change is called a(n) ____________ ________. If the release of particles and energy as the result of such changes does not happen naturally, but is made to happen in the laboratory, it is called ____________ ______________. Particles can be accelerated to high speeds to create artificial or induced radioactivity in a device called a(n) __________ ____________. ____________ demonstrated that mass can be converted into ____________ during such changes. The splitting of an atom’s center into roughly equal fragments is called ____________. The minimal amount of material that will support this change in a self-sustaining way is called the __________ _______. A device in which a chain reaction is carried out at a controlled rate is called a(n) _____________ _______. A substance, such as graphite, that surrounds the fuel and absorbs excess _____________ is called a(n) ________________ or a ________________ ________. The process where centers of atoms are combined to produce a heavier element is called _________________. page 14