Lesson Plan

Describe the structure of the nucleus and the two forces acting within it

Distinguish the atomic number, mass number, and neutron number, and read nuclide notation

Explain the strong nuclear force and how it competes with the electromagnetic force

Explain the three types of radiation (alpha, beta, gamma) and how their charges set their penetrating power

Write balanced nuclear equations for alpha, beta, and gamma decay

Calculate the energy released in a decay from the mass difference using E = (Δm)c²

22.2

"Those two particles, collectively called nucleons, make up the small interior portion of the atom." "This force is known as the strong nuclear force. The strong force has such a short range that it quickly fall to zero over a distance of only 10^-15 meters. However, like glue, it is very strong when the nucleons get close to one another." "Alpha decay refers to the type of decay that takes place when too many protons exist in the nucleus... During alpha decay, the nucleus ejects two protons and two neutrons, allowing the strong nuclear force to regain balance with the repulsive electromagnetic force." "For beta decay, however, a neutron is transformed into a proton and electron or vice versa. The transformation allows for the total mass number of the atom to remain the same, although the atomic number will increase by one (or decrease by one)."