Living in Our Ocean of Air Metal vs. Nonmetal Nuclear Reactions Pages 1-­12 Date _________________________________________________ What You Need to Know • Metals tend to be shiny, ductile, malleable, and good conductors of electricity. • Nonmetals tend to be dull, brittle, and poor conductors of electricity. • Nuclear reactions involve changes in the nucleus. Topic Binder Meta or Nonmetal Exploration Elements from Stardust Radioactive Decay Radioactive Decay Simulation Radon Alert 2-­‐3 4-­‐5 6-­‐9 10-­‐11 12 Notebook Suggested Assessments Student responses Student responses Student responses Student responses Student resposes Vocabulary nuclear fission nuclear fusion isotope half-­‐life radioactive decay Metal or Nonmetal? Observe and test each of the 6 elements. Answer the questions by completing the table on page 3. What color is the element? Is the element shiny or dull? Is the element malleable or brittle? Is the element a conductor of electricity or not? Write down the conductivity number. Is the element a metal or nonmetal? After you have completed the examination of each element sample, use the periodic table of the elements to find the name of each element an confirm the type of element. Name Type of Element A _____________________________________ ____________________________________ B _____________________________________ ____________________________________ C _____________________________________ ____________________________________ D _____________________________________ ____________________________________ E _____________________________________ ____________________________________ F _____________________________________ ____________________________________
Living in Our Ocean of Air 2 Date _________________________________________________ Metal or Nonmetal? Mystery Element A B
Color C D E F
Malleable or Brittle Luster Conductivity Metal or Nonmetal Living in Our Ocean of Air 3 Date _________________________________________________ Elements from Stardust Comparison of Fusion and Fission Reactions • Nuclear fusion produces more energy than nuclear fission reactions. • Unlike nuclear fission reactions, nuclear fusion reactions do not produce chain reactions. If the conditions needed for a nuclear fusion reaction breakdown, the reaction stops. • Nuclear fusion reactions use the hydrogen isotopes tritium and deuterium. Nuclear fission reactions rely on unstable isotopes of heavy elements. However, tritium is radioactive and is a potential environmental hazard. • Nuclear fusion reactions produce helium and neutrons. The products of nuclear fission are radioactive and pose an environmental disposal problem. • Capture of neutrons produced by a nuclear fusion reaction pose an engineering challenge in the design of large-­‐scale fusion reactors. • Nuclear fusion requires extremely high temperatures compared to nuclear fission. Nuclear fusion reactions in stars begin with hydrogen nuclei. Analyze the reaction sequences shown in the diagram. How does each occur? Find out more about nuclear reactions that generate nuclear power. Research the effects of the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami on the Fukushima nuclear reactor. Why were the Japanese urged to plant sunflowers after the accident? Living in Our Ocean of Air 4 Date _________________________________________________ Elements from Stardust Definitions Nuclear fusion the combining of atomic nuclei to form elements with greater atomic number and greater atomic mass Nuclear fission the splitting of atomic nuclei to form elements of lesser atomic number and lower atomic mass The free neutrons will continue reacting with other U-­235 nuclei in a chain reaction. Living in Our Ocean of Air 5 Date _________________________________________________ Radioactive Decay What determines the atomic number? What determines the mass number? What is an isotope? Why are all three nuclei considered to be hydrogen nuclei? Why are these called hydrogen nuclei instead of hydrogen atoms? What element nucleus does the alpha particle resemble? (hint: 2 protons, 2 neutrons) What happens to the atomic number after alpha decay? What happens to the mass number after alpha decay? Alpha Decay Living in Our Ocean of Air 6 Date _________________________________________________ What is the difference between beta-­‐minus and beta-­‐plus decay? What happens to the atomic number and mass number after beta-­‐minus decay? What happens to the atomic number and mass number after beta-­‐plus decay? Why are gamma rays more dangerous than alpha or beta particles? Living in Our Ocean of Air 7 Date _________________________________________________ Radioactive Decay Chain Uranium-­238 to Lead-­206 1. What type of particle is emitted when uranium-­‐238 becomes thorium-­‐234? What is the particle the same as? 2. What type of particle is emitted when thorium-­‐234 becomes protactinium-­‐234? What is the particle the same as? 3. Is the change from lead-­‐210 to bismuth-­‐210 an example of beta-­‐plus or beta-­‐minus decay? Explain. 4. Use the element symbol, atomic number, and mass number to show all the isotopes in the uranium-­‐238 decay chain. Living in Our Ocean of Air 8 Date _________________________________________________ Radioactive Decay What is the half-­‐life of Strontium-­‐90? ________________________________ What does half-­‐life mean? Explain what is shown in the graph. Living in Our Ocean of Air 9 Date _________________________________________________ Try It! Simulate radioactive decay using 100 pennies in copy paper box. Procedure 1. Place 100 pennies in the copy paper box. Put the cover on the box. 2. Flip the box over so that the lid is on the table. Remove the box from the lid. 3. Remove all pennies that are heads up. 4. Count the number of pennies that are heads and record it in the data table column “Heads Removed (each trial).” Place the heads up pennies in the storage container. 5. Check your data by counting the remaining pennies that are tails up. Record that number. 6. Put the box back on the lid. Flip the box over so that the lid is up. Remove the lid. 7. Repeat step 3-­‐7 keeping a running tally of pennies removed in the last column of the data table. 8. Continue until one penny remains in the box or box lid. 9. Graph the data. Data Table Trial Tails Remaining Heads Removed Total Pennies (each trial) Removed 0 100 0 0 Living in Our Ocean of Air 10 Date _________________________________________________ Data Analysis 100 90 80 Number of Pennies 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Trial Number  = number of heads  = number of tails On a separate sheet of paper… Evaluate the simulation of radioactive decay. Use the data to support your answers to the following questions. Why does it model or fail to model the process of radioactive decay and concept of half-­life? Could a sample of radioactive material ever completely decay? Why or why not.
Living in Our Ocean of Air 11 Date _________________________________________________ Radon Alert • Radon-­‐222 is a chemically inert radioactive gas that is part of the decay chain of uranium-­‐238. • Radon-­‐222 is a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas that has a half-­‐life of 3.382 days. • Alpha radiation from radon-­‐222 and the short-­‐lived decay daughters of radon-­‐
222 are the second leading cause of lung cancer. • Radon-­‐222 is associated with ancient igneous continental bedrock formations such as granite. • Concentrations of radon-­‐222 in excess of 4 picocuries per liter are considered hazardous. Think About It To what family of gases does Radon belong? Why is a chemically inert gas more dangerous than one that is reactive? Analyze the diagram. Why is radon more of a health risk inside a home or other building than outdoors? Consider the Following • Radon is a serious health risk in certain areas of New Jersey. Use the NJDEP Radon Potential Map to locate areas that have low, moderate, and high potential. http://www.state.nj.us/dep/rpp/radon/radonmap.htm • What’s your personal risk potential? • How is radon detected? • What can homeowners do to reduce their exposure? (Hint: Ask Mr. Lee.) Living in Our Ocean of Air 12