Nuclear Chemistry - Radioactive Decay

Flashcards covering vocabulary and concepts from a Nuclear Chemistry lecture on Radioactive Decay.

radioactivity

The process by which some substances spontaneously emit radiation.

transmutation

The production of artificial nuclear reactions.

nucleon

A proton or a neutron, especially as part of an atomic nucleus.

strong nuclear force

A force that acts only on subatomic particles that are extremely close together.

band of stability

Area on a graph of neutrons versus protons within which all stable nuclei are found.

positron emission

A radioactive decay process that involves the emission of a positron from a nucleus.

positron

A particle with the same mass as an electron but with opposite charge.

electron capture

A process that occurs when the nucleus of an atom draws in a surrounding electron, usually one from the lowest energy level.

radioactive decay series

A series of nuclear reactions that begins with an unstable nucleus and results in the formation of a stable nucleus.

half-life

Time required for one-half of a radioisotope’s nuclei to decay into its products.

radiochemical dating

The process that is used to determine the age of an object by measuring the amount of a certain radioisotope remaining in the object.

neutron-to-proton ratio

The number of neutrons compared to the number of protons in a nucleus; correlated with nuclear stability.