Isotopes and Nuclear Decay

Front

What is the mass number of an atom?

Back

The mass number is the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.

Front

What is an isotope?

Back

Isotopes are variants of a particular chemical element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Front

What charge does a proton have?

Back

A proton has a positive charge.

Front

What charge does an electron have?

Back

An electron has a negative charge.

Front

What is the atomic number of an element?

Back

The atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom, which determines the element's identity.

Front

How do you determine the number of neutrons in an atom?

Back

The number of neutrons can be found by subtracting the atomic number from the mass number.

Front

What is nuclear decay?

Back

Nuclear decay is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting radiation.

Front

What are the three main types of nuclear decay?

Back

The three main types of nuclear decay are alpha decay, beta decay, and gamma decay.

Front

What happens during alpha decay?

Back

During alpha decay, an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle, which consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons.

Front

What happens during beta decay?

Back

During beta decay, a neutron in the nucleus is transformed into a proton and an electron, and the electron is emitted.