NUCLEUS OF AN ATOM

Describe the composition of the nucleus of an atom

The nucleus consists of neutrons (with a neutral charge and 1 mass) and protons (that
have one positive charge and the same mass). Neutrons act as electrostatic 'glue' that
binds the protons together(which would otherwise repel each other). The nucleus is
orbited by electrons (that have negligible mass and one negative charge). This
composition was proven by Rutherford's gold foil experiment

Define proton number and nucleon number

Proton number (also called atomic number)

The proton number is equal to the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.

The proton number is also equal to the number of electrons in orbit around a neutral
atom.

Nucleon number (also called mass number)

The nucleon number is equal to the total number of nucleons (protons and neutrons)
in the nucleus of an atom.

Explain nuclide and its notation

A type of atom specified by its atomic number, atomic mass, and energy state, such as
carbon 14.

It is a notation which gives you the number of protons and the mass of the nucleus in
atomic units
Usually number of Protons Z is given by the name of the nuclei and written as index .
The mass number A is written as exponant
From the mass number you can calculate number of neutrons using formula A=Z+N

Define istope

An isotope is a form of a chemical element whose atomic nucleus contains a specific

number of neutron s, in addition to the number of proton s that uniquely defines the
element. The nuclei of most atom s contain neutrons as well as protons. (An exception
is the common form of hydrogen, whose nucleus consists of a lone proton.) Every
chemical element has more than one isotope. For any element, one of the isotopes is
more abundant in nature than any of the others, although often multiple isotopes of a
single element are mixed.
The isotope of an element is defined by the nucleon number, which is the sum of the
number of protons and the number of neutrons in the atomic nucleus. The nucleon
number is customarily written as a superscript preceding the chemical symbol for the
element. For example, 16 O represents oxygen-16, which has 8 protons and 8 neutrons,
while 12 C represents carbon-12, with 6 protons and 6 neutrons. These are the most
common naturally occurring isotopes of oxygen and carbon, respectively. Some
carbon-14 is found in nature. An atom of carbon-14 contains 6 protons and 8 neutrons
and is denoted 14 C. Over time, 14 C decays into 12 C.

Sometimes the isotope of an element is denoted by writing the nucleon number after
the chemical symbol, and not as a superscript. Thus, some texts will denote carbon-14
as C-14 or C14 instead of 14 C.

Certain isotopes of elements are unstable, giving off ionizing radiation, also known as
radioactivity. Such an isotope is called a radioisotope. Carbon-14 is a radioisotope of
carbon. In the case of an element that is radioactive in all its known forms, such as
uranium (U), certain isotopes are more radioactive than others, and/or give off
different proportions of the various types of ionizing radiation.

RADIOACTIVE DECAY

State what radioactivity is

1. Spontaneous emission of radiation, either directly from unstable atomic nuclei

or as a consequence of a nuclear reaction.
2. The radiation, including alpha particles, nucleons, electrons, and gamma rays,
emitted by a radioactive substance.

Name common detectors for radioactive emissions

http://www.mp-
docker.demon.co.uk/as_a2/topics/atomic_structure/proton_number.html

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Nuclide?jss=1

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18467527/Radioactivity