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Ch. 8
Radioactivity
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Radioactivity | The spontaneous breaking up of unstable nuclei with the emission of one or more types of radiation |
What happens when an atom loses an alpha particle? | It changes into an atom of the element two places before it in the periodic table. The mass number of the parent atom decreases by four |
When an atom loses a beta particle? | It changes into an atom of the element one place after it in the Periodic Table. The mass number stays the same. |
The half life of an element | The time taken for half of the nuclei in any given sample to decay |