CHAPTER 5

RADIOACTIVITY
Nucleus of an Atom

1
 STRUCTURE OF AN ATOM

Planetary model

Three types of subatomic

particles
oPositive-charged proton
Nucleus (singular) oNegative-charged electron
Nuclei (plural) oElectrical neutral neutron 2
 NUCLIDE NOTATION

Number of neutrons = Nucleon number Proton number

N=AZ
A nuclide is a type of atom characterized by a specific
number of protons and neutrons.
For example: -
Sodium atom has 11 protons, 11 electrons and 12 neutrons.
Therefore, nuclide notation for sodium is represented by: -
23
11 Na
3
 SUBATOMIC PARTICLES
Proton Neutron Electron
Mass (kg) 1.671027 1.671027 9.111031
Charge (C) +1.61019 0 1.61019
Relative mass 1 1 1

1836
Relative +1 0 1
charge
Nuclide 1 1
n 0
1p 0 1 e
notation
Mass of a neutron is slightly bigger than that of a proton.

4
 ISOTOPES
o Isotopes are atoms of an element which have the
same proton number but different nucleon number.
[Isotopes have the same of number of protons but
different number of neutrons.]

o A radioisotope is an unstable isotope which decays

and gives out radioactive radiations.

5
 NUCLEAR RADIATIONS
There are 3 types of nuclear radiations: -
1) Alpha particles ()
neutron 4
Helium nucleus 2 He
proton

2) Beta particles ()
0
electron 1 e

3) Gamma ray () Electromagnetic wave

6
 COMPARISON BETWEEN THREE
TYPES OF NUCLEAR RADIATIONS
-particle -particle -ray
Nature Helium Fast-moving High frequency
nucleus electron EM wave
Nuclide 4 0 -
notation 2 He 1 e

Charge +2 1 Neutral
Mass Heavy Light No mass
Speed Lowest Moderate Highest
(about 0.1c) (up to 0.9c) (c = 3108 ms1)

7
 COMPARISON BETWEEN THREE
TYPES OF NUCLEAR RADIATIONS
-particle -particle -ray
Ionising Highest Moderate Lowest
power
Penetrating Lowest Moderate Highest
power
Range in A few A few metres A few hundreds
air centimetres metres
Can be Paper Aluminium Concrete
stopped by Lead
Electric and Can be Can be Cannot be
magnetic deflected deflected deflected
fields 8
 IONISING POWER
When a nuclear radiation passes through a gas, it
removes electrons from gas molecules. Then, the gas
molecules are ionised.
negative ion
uncharged uncharged
molecule molecule
e gains an e
losses an e

positive ion +

The charge of an -particle is +2, thus it can ionise

more gas molecules as compared to a - particle.
Ionising power: > >
9
 PENETRATING POWER

o -particles can be stopped by a thin sheet of paper.

o -particles can be stopped by about 5 mm-thick aluminium
sheet.
o -rays can be stopped by at least 1 metre-thick concrete slab
or 10 cm-thick lead.
10
 ELECTRIC FIELD
What are the pathways taken by -particles, -
particles and -rays when they enter the electric
field?
+ + + + + +

Electric field
, ,

11
 ELECTRIC FIELD
+ + + + + +


, ,

o -particles (+ charge) are deflected towards negative plate.

o -particles ( charge) are deflected towards positive plate.

o -rays are neutral and cannot be deflected.

*-particles are deflected more since they are light as
compared to -particles. 12
 MAGNETIC FIELD
What are the pathways taken by -particles, -
particles and -rays when they enter the magnetic
field?
Magnetic field into the paper

, ,

13
 MAGNETIC FIELD
Magnetic field into the paper


, ,

o -particles and -particles carry charges and can be

deflected by magnetic field. Their direction of deflection can
be determined by using Flemings left-hand rule.

o -rays are neutral and cannot be deflected.

14
DETECTORS OF
RADIATIONS
DETECTOR TYPE OF OBSERVATION
RADIATIONS
Photographic film , Darkening of the
badge photographic plate
Spark counter only Sparks are seen.
Cloud chamber , , Tracks of radiations
are seen.
Geiger-Muller tube , , A count rate is
with ratemeter shown by the
ratemeter.
PHOTOGRAPHIC BADGE
Photographic film
goes darker when it
absorbs radiation.
The more radiation
the film absorbs, the
darker it is when it is
developed.

16
 SPARK COUNTER

Works based on ionising power, thus spark counter

detects alpha particles only. 17
 CLOUD CHAMBER
Radioactive source

Alpha particles Beta particles Gamma rays

The tracks are The tracks are The tracks are
thick, straight thin, twisted short, thin
and almost of and different in and scattered.
the same length. length.
18
 GEIGER-MULLER TUBE
A GM tube, which is connected with a ratemeter,
shows a count rate of the radiations emitted from a
radioactive source or background radiation.

Ratemeter

Radioactive GM tube
source 19
 GEIGER-MULLER TUBE
Background radiation is the natural radiation due
to radioactive materials present in soil and rocks,
and cosmic radiation.

0 0 3 6 0 4 5 8
Without radioactive source With radioactive source

Background count rate = 36 counts per minute

Actual count rate due to radioactive source only

= (458 36) = 422 counts per minute
20
 RADIOACTIVE DECAY
Radioactive decay is the disintegration of an
unstable nucleus accompanied by the emission of
energetic particles or photons.

o Radioactive decay is a spontaneous whereby the decay of an

unstable nucleus happens at their own.
o Radioactive decay is a random process since it is impossible
to predict which nucleus will decay at any moment of time.
21
 A) ALPHA DECAY

During alpha decay, the unstable parent nucleus

disintegrates into a more stable daughter nucleus by
losing an alpha-particle or helium nucleus.

22
 A) ALPHA DECAY
During alpha decay, the proton number of the
daughter nucleus decreases by 2 while the nucleon
number decreases by 4.
A 4 X: Parent nucleus
A
Z X Z 2Y 4
2 He
Y: Daughter nucleus
For example: -
212
84 Po 208
82 Pb 4
2 He

86 Ra 84 Po
222 218

23
 B) BETA DECAY
neutron proton + electron

0 n 1 p 1 e
1 1 0

During beta decay, one of the neutrons in the

unstable parent nucleus disintegrates into a proton
and an electron (or known as beta-particle).
Beta particles are actually electrons originated from inside the
nucleus not from the orbits around the nucleus.
24
 B) BETA DECAY
During beta decay, the proton number of the
daughter nucleus increases by 1 while the nucleon
number remains unchanged.
A A 0 X: Parent nucleus
Z XZ 1Y 1 e Y: Daughter nucleus
For example: -
234
92 U 234
93 Pa 0
1 e

83 Bi
212 212
82 Pb

25
 C) GAMMA DECAY

During gamma decay, the unstable and highly

energetic parent nucleus will emit gamma rays to
form a less energetic daughter nucleus.

26
 C) GAMMA DECAY
During gamma decay, the proton number and
nucleon number of the daughter nucleus remain
unchanged.

Z X Z X
A * A

X*: Parent nucleus (more energetic)

X: Daughter nucleus (less energetic)
For example: -
27 Co
60 60
27 Co

2 He
210 206 4
84 Po 82 Pb
27
 RADIOACTIVE DECAY SERIES
o In a radioactive decay, the daughter nucleus is still
unstable and will eventually decay into another
nucleus which may also unstable.

o This process continues as a radioactive decay

series until a stable nucleus is reached.
For example: -

Po-216 Pb-212 Bi-212 Po-212 Pb-208
unstable stable

28
 QUESTION 1
The radioactive decay series for thorium-232 ends
with lead-208 as shown in the equation below.
82 Pb m n
232 208
90 Th
Find the value of m and n.
Solution: -
232
90 Th208
82 Pb m4
2 He n 0
1 e
Balance nucleon number: Balance proton number:
232 208 4m 90 82 12 n
4m 24 n4
m6
29
 QUESTION 2
218 Polonium-216 undergoes a
216 Po series of radioactive decays
to form lead-208. Chart
Nucleon number

214 shows a graph of nucleon

212 Bi number against proton
number for the radioactive
210 series of polonium-206.
How many alpha and beta
208 particles are emitted in the
Pb
206 series? Write one equation
81 82 83 84 85 of alpha decay and one
Proton number equation of beta decay.

30
 QUESTION 2
218 2 alpha particles and
216 Po 2 beta particles.

Nucleon number

214 Alpha decay:

Pb Bi Po
212

216
84 Po 212
82 Pb 4
2 He
210
Beta decay:
208
206
Pb 212
82 Pb 212
83 Bi 0
1 e
81 82 83 84 85
Proton number

31
 ANSWER 2
218 2 alpha particles and
216 Po 2 beta particles.

Nucleon number

214 Alpha decay:

Pb Bi
212

216
84 Po 212
82 Pb 4
2 He
210
Beta decay:
208
206
Pb 212
82 Pb 212
83 Bi 0
1 e
81 82 83 84 85
Proton number

32
 HALF LIFE
The half-life of a radioactive substance is the
time taken for the number of undecayed
nuclei in a sample to be reduced to half of its
original number.

T1 2 Undecayed nuclei
N N
Half life T1 (s/min/hour/year)
2
33
 HALF LIFE GAME
Let say unstable parent nuclei X decays to form a
more stable daughter nuclei Y and emits -particle.
X: Undecayed nuclei
X Y
Y: Decayed nuclei
Let say half-life of X is 1 hour.

1 hr 1 hr 1 hr

16 X 8X 4X 2X
0Y 8Y 12 Y 14 Y
34
HALF LIFE
t0 t T1/2 t 2T1/2 t 3T1/2
1 1
N N
1 4 8
N
2
N

800 400 200 100

t=0 t = 1 hr t = 2 hrs t = 3 hrs
Nuclei which have not decayed
1n where n is
Nuclei which have decayed ( ) number of
2 half-life
35
 HALF LIFE
Let original number of undecayed nuclei, No = 800
1000
Number of undecayed nuclei

800
T1/2 1 hour
600

400

200

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (hours)
36
 QUESTION 3
Krypton-89 has a half-life of 3.2 minutes. A
radioactive sample contains 128 g of krypton-89. Find
the mass of krypton-89 that has not decayed and
that has decayed after 9.6 minutes.
Solution:
9.6 min
3T1/2
3.2 min
T1/2 T1/2 T1/2
128 g 64 g 32 g 16 g
Mass of undecayed nuclei = 16 g
Mass of decayed nuclei = 128 16 g = 112 g
37
 QUESTION 4
A radioactive sample takes 500 s for 93.75% of its
nuclei have decayed.
a) What is the half-life of the sample?
b) What is the fraction of the sample that has not
decayed after 625 s?
Solution:
a) 100 % 50% 25% 12.5% 6.25%
4T1/2 500 s
T1/2 125 s
Percentage 3.125% Fraction
b) 625 s
5T1/2 3.125 1 15 1
125 s Fraction ( )
100 32 2 32
38
 QUESTION 5
An archaeologist found that the activity of C-14 in a
sample of animal bone fossil is 5 counts per minutes
per gram of its content. If the activity of C-14 in a
living animal is 20 counts per minutes per gram, what
is the age of the animal bone fossils? Given that the
half-life of C-14 is 5760 years.
Solution:
20 10 5
Age 2T1/2
Age 2 5760 11520 years

39
 USES OF RADIOISOTOPES
Medicine
o Iodine-131 is used in the treatment of thyroid diseases.
o Technetium-99m is used as a radioactive tracer which
can detect the traces of drugs in human body.
o Gamma rays emitted from Cobalt-60 are used to kill
cancer cells. They can be used to sterilise the medical
equipments and surgical tools.
o Radioactive source emits
gamma rays that are able to
kill cancerous cell.
o Solid state so that easily
stored and does no spill easily.
o Long half life, about few years,
so can use for a longer time. 40
 USES OF RADIOISOTOPES
Industry
o Sodium-24 is used to detect the leaks in underground gas
or oil pipes. Beta
o Beta particles emitted Rollers radioactive
source
from krypton-85 are
used to control the Paper
thickness of material,
such as paper, plastic Radioactive
sheet or aluminium foil. detector, e.g.
GM tube

Computer
o Radioactive source emits beta-particles.
o Solid state so that easily stored and cant leak easily.
o Long half life, about few years, so can use for a longer time. 41
 USES OF RADIOISOTOPES
Agriculture
o Phosphorus-32 is used to study the absorption of
phosphate fertilisers in plants. Radioactive sources used in
liquid state added into water so that can be absorbed by
plants.
o Low dosage of gamma rays can be used to control the
population of pests, in which the rays induce mutation in
the pests which inhibit them from reproducing.
Archaeology
o Carbon-14 can be used to estimate the age of fossils or
bones by measuring the activity of remaining of C-14.

42
 ATOMIC MASS UNIT
The atomic mass unit (a.m.u. or u) is used to measure
the masses of atomic particles.
1
1 u Mass of a Carbon 12 atom
12
12 1
1 u 1.66 1027 kg 11 2

10 3

9 4
8 5
7 6

43
 EINSTEINS PRINCIPLE OF
MASS-ENERGY EQUIVALENCE
E mc 2

E = energy released (J)

m = mass defect or
loss of mass (kg)
c = 3 108 ms1
For mass loss of one gram (1 g), the energy released
is 9 1013 J, that is equivalent to ~ 25 million kWh!
A very small loss of mass can produce a huge amount
of energy!
44
 QUESTION 6
Radium-226 ( 226
88 Ra ) undergoes an alpha decay to
become radon-222 and energy is released.
Mass of Ra-226 = 226.025406 u
Mass of Rn-222=222.017574 u
Mass of He-4 = 4.002603 u

a) Write the equation for the above decay.

b) Calculate the mass defect in kg.

c) Calculate the energy released in J.

45
 ANSWER 6
Loss of mass
a) 226
88 Ra 222
86 Rn 2 He Energy
4
is converted
226.025406 u 226.020177 u 0.005229 u into energy!

b) Mass defect = 226.025406 u 226.020177 u

= 0.005229 u
= 0.005229 1.66 1027 kg
= 8.68014 1030 kg
c) E mc2
E 8.68014 1030 (3 108 )2
E 7.812 1013 J

46
 A) NUCLEAR FISSION
Nuclear fission is the splitting of a heavy nucleus into
two lighter nuclei.
A neutron
For example: -
Nuclear fission of U-235
235
92 U 1
0 n 92
36 Kr 141
56 Ba 31
0n

A slow-moving neutron is
needed to bombard the
nucleus of U-235 and thus
initiate the nuclear fission.
3 neutrons 47
 NUCLEAR CHAIN REACTION
o A nuclear chain reaction is a self-sustaining
reaction in which the products of a reaction can
initiate another similar reaction.

o Uncontrolled chain reaction happens in a nuclear

bomb. A huge amount of energy is released in a
very short time causes massive destruction.

48
NUCLEAR CHAIN REACTION
235 1 140 94 1
92 U 0 n 54 Xe 38 Sr 2 0n

90 1
38 Sr 0 n
1
0n

235
92 U 140 Xe 1
54 0n

1st generation 2nd generation 3rd generation 49

 B) NUCLEAR FUSION
Nuclear fusion is the combining of two lighter nuclei
to form a heavier nucleus.
For example: -
Nuclear fusion of
deuterium-tritium
2
1 H 3
1 H 4
2 He 1
0n

To allow nuclear fusion

occurs, a very high
temperature is needed
(more than 50 million C).
50
NUCLEAR REACTOR

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

51
 NUCLEAR REACTOR
Part Function / Explanation
Uranium Enriched uranium-235 is used to
fuel rods produce nuclear energy through
nuclear fission.
Boron To absorb neutrons so that the rate of
control fission reaction can be controlled when
rods the rods are lowered into the reactor
core. Therefore, nuclear chain reaction
can be controlled.
Graphite To slow down fast-moving neutrons so
moderator that they can be absorbed by U-235
nuclei and then cause further fission.
52
 NUCLEAR REACTOR
Part Function / Explanation
Coolant To absorb heat from the reactor core.
Usually, water is used as coolant since
it has high specific heat capacity.
Steam Water is heated to become steam. The
generator steam then turns the turbine.
Turbine To turn the generator to produce
electricity.
Thick To prevent leakage of radiations from
concrete nuclear core.
wall
53
TRANSFORMATION OF ENERGY
IN A NUCLEAR REACTOR
Nuclear
Kinetic
energy Heat energy
energy
(Uranium (Water)
(Steam)
fuel)

Kinetic
Electrical
energy
energy
(Turbine)

54