Foothill High School  Chemistry
Nuclear Review
Name________________________Date_______
Nuclear Chemistry
1) A positively charged particle made up of two protons and two neutrons and released by a radioactive
nucleus is the _______________ particle.
2) When a neutron decays in a radioactive nucleus, the neutron is converted to a proton and a fast-moving
electron called a _______________ particle.
3) The process in which the nuclei of unstable atoms can become more stable by emitting particles and/or
electromagnetic radiation is called _______________.
4) High-energy electromagnetic radiation released by a radioactive nucleus is called ______________.
5) _______________ decay is the breaking up of a radioactive element, more often than not resulting in the
formation of a new nucleus.
6) Alpha radiation is actually a stream of (positively, negatively) charged particles.
7) Beta radiation is actually a stream of (positively, negatively) charged particles.
8) Whenever an element undergoes (alpha, beta, gamma) decay, it turns into another element with an atomic
number two less than before and a mass number four less than before.
9) (Alpha particles, Beta particles, Gamma rays) can be stopped with a piece of paper.
10) (Alpha particles, Beta particles, Gamma rays) can’t be stopped by a piece of paper, but can be stopped with
a thin metal sheet.
11) It takes a thick metal sheet to stop (alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays).
12) (Alpha particles, Beta particles, Gamma rays) travel at the speed of light.
13) The term radioactivity was coined by _______________ _______________
14) (Alpha particles, Beta particles, Gamma rays) are not affected by a magnetic field because they carry no
_______________ charge.
15) An alpha particle is actually a nucleus of _______________.
16) Radioactive decay processes occur until a _______________ element is formed.
17) The _______________ -to-_______________ ratio determines the type of decay that occurs.
18) All nuclei that have an atomic number greater than 83 are _______________ because they have both too
many _______________ and too many _______________ to be stable.
19) Mass is converted into _______________ released in radioactive decay.
20) After each half-life, half of the existing radioactive atoms have _______________ into atoms of a new
element.
21) The ratio of Carbon-14 to stable carbon in the remains of an organism changes in a predictable way which
enables archeologists to estimate the _______________ of these objects.
22) ______________________ elements have been synthesized in nuclear reactors and accelerators.
23) The splitting of a nucleus into smaller fragments is called _______________. U-235 and Pu-239 are the
only fissionable isotopes.
24) Nuclear fission can release enormous amounts of _______________.
25) Unlike chemical reactions, nuclear reactions are not affected by changes in temperature, _______________
or the presence of _______________.
26) Fuel rods from nuclear power plants are one major source of _______________ _____________.
27) The energy released by the sun results from nuclear _______________.
28) Fusion reactions result when small nuclei _______________.
29) In solar fusion hydrogen nuclei fuse to produce _______________ nuclei at temperatures in excess of
_______________ °C.
30) Radioactive elements used for dating objects must have _______________ half-lives and decay very
_______________.
31) Radioactive elements used for medicine must have _______________ half-lives and decay very
_______________.
32) Radiation therapy used to treat cancer cells works because cancer cells are more susceptible to damage by
_______________ rays.
33) Food irradiation is the process of treating food with ________________. This treatment slows spoilage
and kills ____________________ (reducing the risk of food borne illness).
Be sure to also review:

Nuclear Reactions WS
Practice Problems from book:

p. 808 #12
p. 821-822 # 29, 32, 49, 50
Half-life WS
Practice Problems from book: p. 822 #51, 54, 61

Nuclear Chemistry Prezi Notes

Crossword

25.1-25.4 in textbook and workbook