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Radioactivity

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Question 36

The table describes the nuclei of four atoms:

krypton-82krypton-84strontium-86yttrium-86
3682Kr{}^{82}_{36}\text{Kr}3682​Kr3684Kr{}^{84}_{36}\text{Kr}3684​Kr3886Sr{}^{86}_{38}\text{Sr}3886​Sr3986Y{}^{86}_{39}\text{Y}3986​Y
a.

Atoms contain electrons. Which nucleus needs the largest number of electrons to form a neutral atom?

  • A: krypton-82
  • B: krypton-84
  • C: strontium-86
  • D: yttrium-86
[1]
b.

Which two nuclei have the same number of protons?

[1]
c.

Which two nuclei have the same number of nucleons?

[1]
d.

Which two nuclei have the same number of neutrons?

[1]
e.

Explain what is meant by the term unstable.

[1]
f.

Explain what is meant by the term half-life.

[1]
g.

When strontium-86 decays, it emits an alpha particle and a gamma ray.

Complete the decay equation for strontium-86 by identifying the missing values of a,b,c,d,e,a, b, c, d, e,a,b,c,d,e, and fff in:

3886Sr→baα+dcX+feγ {}^{86}_{38}\text{Sr} \rightarrow {}^{a}_{b}\alpha + {}^{c}_{d}\text{X} + {}^{e}_{f}\gamma 3886​Sr→ba​α+dc​X+fe​γ
[2]
h.

Use information from the table to identify element X.

[1]
i.

The nucleus of yttrium-86 can absorb an electron. When this happens, one of the protons in the nucleus becomes a neutron according to the equation:

11p+−10e→01n {}^{1}_{1}\text{p} + {}^{0}_{-1}\text{e} \rightarrow {}^{1}_{0}\text{n} 11​p+−10​e→01​n

Describe how this process affects the proton number and the nucleon number of the nucleus that absorbs the electron.

[2]
j.

Identify the new nucleus formed by this process.

[1]

Radioactivity Questions

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