Gizmos Student Exploration Nuclear Decay Answer Key

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) The chart below gives the locations, charges, and approximate masses of three subatomic particles. The approximate mass of each particle is given in universal mass units (u). Particle Location Charge Approximate mass Proton Nucleus 1 + 1 u Neutron Nucleus 0 1 u Electron Orbitals 1 - 0 u 1. The mass number of an atom is equal to the sum of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. A helium atom has 2 protons and 2 neutrons. What is the mass number of this atom? 4 2. The atomic number of an element is equal to the number of protons in each atom of the element. All helium atoms have 2 protons. What is the atomic number of helium? 2 Gizmo Warm-up While most atoms are stable, some are radioactive, which means that they have a tendency to undergo spontaneous nuclear decay. The decay of radioactive atoms generally results in the emission of particles and/or energy. Several types of nuclear decay can be explored with the Nuclear Decay Gizmo™. On the Gizmo, check that Alpha decay and Uranium are selected. 1. Click Play ( ), and then click Pause ( ) when the alpha particle is clearly visible. What is an alpha particle made of? 2. Click Play and observe. Besides the alpha particle, what else is emitted from the nucleus during alpha decay? Gamma rays Protons and neutrons f/ Gamma rays are energetic electromagnetic waves; they are often emitted in nuclear decay. Question: How does alpha decay change the nucleus of a radioactive atom? 1. Predict: As you observed in the warm-up activity, an alpha particle consists of two protons and two neutrons. How will the emission of an alpha particle affect the following? A. The atomic number of the atom: Decrease by 2 B. The mass number of the atom: Decrease by 4 2. Calculate: Turn on Write equation. What you see is an equation that shows the original uranium atom on the left. The boxes on the right represent the daughter product—the atom produced by radioactive decay—and the emitted alpha particle. A. In the top left box, write the mass number of the daughter product and press “Enter” on your keyboard. What is this number? 234 B. In the bottom left box, write the atomic number of the daughter product and press “Enter.” What is this number? 90 C. In the next set of boxes, enter the mass number and atomic number of the alpha particle, which has the same composition as the nucleus of a helium (He) atom. After filling in the boxes in the Gizmo, write the completed equation below (Double click the image below to open in Google Draw. Use the Text Box tool to fill in the boxes): D. According to your equation, what isotope remains after the alpha decay of uranium-238? (Note: You can look up element symbols on the periodic table.)