20. A 0.01 mg sample of radioactive polonium-210 (Po-210) is purchased for our physics classroom. The...

 

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20. A 0.01 mg sample of radioactive polonium-210 (Po-210) is purchased for our physics classroom. The sample is undergoing alpha decay, with a half-life of 138 days. a. Write the complete nuclear equation for the reaction taking place when this substance decays. b. For each polonium nucleus in this sample, state the: i. ii. iii. c. Write the complete nuclear equation for the reaction that would take place if one of the products in part (a) subsequently underwent beta decay. d. Explain why in both parts (a) and (c), the mass of the products is not equal to the mass of the reactants. e. Heavier isotopes of polonium than Po-210 all have shorter half-lives. State which will give a higher reading on a radiation detector: a substance with a short half-life or a substance that has a long half-life? Assume both have an equal amount of a radioactive substance to start with. number of protons, number of neutrons, number of nucleons. f. Early experiments with uranium included firing neutrons at the Uranium nuclei to make the nuclei larger. To the surprise of the researchers, instead of finding heavier uranium nuclei, they found smaller elements such as barium and krypton. Explain what was happening to the uranium nucleus. 20. A 0.01 mg sample of radioactive polonium-210 (Po-210) is purchased for our physics classroom. The sample is undergoing alpha decay, with a half-life of 138 days. a. Write the complete nuclear equation for the reaction taking place when this substance decays. b. For each polonium nucleus in this sample, state the: i. ii. iii. c. Write the complete nuclear equation for the reaction that would take place if one of the products in part (a) subsequently underwent beta decay. d. Explain why in both parts (a) and (c), the mass of the products is not equal to the mass of the reactants. e. Heavier isotopes of polonium than Po-210 all have shorter half-lives. State which will give a higher reading on a radiation detector: a substance with a short half-life or a substance that has a long half-life? Assume both have an equal amount of a radioactive substance to start with. number of protons, number of neutrons, number of nucleons. f. Early experiments with uranium included firing neutrons at the Uranium nuclei to make the nuclei larger. To the surprise of the researchers, instead of finding heavier uranium nuclei, they found smaller elements such as barium and krypton. Explain what was happening to the uranium nucleus.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Certainly lets go through each part of the question step by step a Alpha decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alph... View the full answer