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The Band of Stability: Objectives

The document discusses the concept of a "Band of Stability" in nuclear physics. It explains that elements from hydrogen to lead have stable isotopes where attractive nuclear forces balance out repulsive electromagnetic forces between protons in the nucleus. Beyond lead, no arrangement of neutrons can stabilize the nucleus. Unstable isotopes undergo radioactive decay, such as alpha or beta decay, in attempts to move closer to the Band of Stability by altering the proton-neutron ratio. Students graph stable and unstable isotopes to visualize the Band of Stability and consider nuclear decay equations that could move unstable isotopes toward stability.

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124 views2 pages

The Band of Stability: Objectives

The document discusses the concept of a "Band of Stability" in nuclear physics. It explains that elements from hydrogen to lead have stable isotopes where attractive nuclear forces balance out repulsive electromagnetic forces between protons in the nucleus. Beyond lead, no arrangement of neutrons can stabilize the nucleus. Unstable isotopes undergo radioactive decay, such as alpha or beta decay, in attempts to move closer to the Band of Stability by altering the proton-neutron ratio. Students graph stable and unstable isotopes to visualize the Band of Stability and consider nuclear decay equations that could move unstable isotopes toward stability.

Uploaded by

Andrea
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Band of Stability

Objectives:
 Students know how to relate the position of an element in the periodic table to its atomic number and atomic mass
 Students know protons and neutrons in the nucleus are held together by nuclear forces that overcome the
electromagnetic repulsion between the proton
 Students know some naturally occurring isotopes of elements are radioactive, as are isotopes formed in nuclear
reactions
 Students know the three most common forms of radioactive decay (alpha, beta, gamma) and know how the
nucleus changes in each type of decay

Introduction
Radioactive decay changes the nature of an atom’s nucleus, and it happens for a reason. Each element from hydrogen
(atomic number 1) to lead (atomic number 82) has stable isotopes in which the tendency of protons to repel one another is
overcome by attractive nuclear forces. These attractive nuclear forces require ideal distances between the protons. The
neutrons help create these ideal distances. If there are too few neutrons, or too many neutrons, the nucleus becomes
unstable.

If an atom has more than 82 protons in the nucleus, there is no arrangement of neutrons that can produce more attractive
forces than repulsive forces. Therefore, all isotopes of elements beyond lead are radioactive. Their only route to stability
is to first reduce the overall size of the nucleus by losing large particles called “alpha particles”.
Example:

Atoms that have fewer than 82 protons will undergo decay that alters the proton/neutron ratio. Neutrons may be
converted to protons by losing a beta particle (essentially an electron).
Example:

Protons may be converted to electrons by positron emission. A positron is the anti-particle of the electron.
Example:

Protons may also be converted to neutrons through the process of electron capture.
Example:

Radioactive decay also often has associated with it the release of gamma radiation (). Gamma radiation is pure energy,
of very short wavelength and very high energy. Since it does not have mass, it does not on its own change the nature of
the nucleus. For this reason, it is often omitted from equations where it should appear. An example is the first equation
on this sheet.
Example:

Part 1 – Create a “Band of Stability”


You will be graphing the proton and neutron numbers for some isotopes that are known to be stable.
1. Using an entire side of a piece of graph paper, draw a vertical “y” axis and label it “Neutrons”. Draw a horizontal “x” axis and
label it “Protons”, title the graph “Neutrons vs. Protons”.
2. Scale the y-axis so that it goes from 0 to 150.
3. Scale the x-axis so that it goes from 0 to 100.
4. Complete the chart below.
Stable Isotope Atomic Protons Neutrons N:P Ratio
Number (x-axis) (y-axis) Ratio Reduced
Helium – 4
Carbon – 12
Silicon – 28
Scandium – 45
Iron – 56
Silver – 109
Xenon - 131
Gadolinium – 160
Tungsten – 184
Lead – 206
(*Note that this in only a small part of the list of stable isotopes. From hydrogen to lead, there are
currently 243 isotopes identified as stable.)
5. Plot the points that result from the table above, in the form (x,y), on your graph.
6. Draw a curve through the points, creating as smooth a curve as possible. Label this curve, “Band of Stability”.
7. On the same piece of graph paper draw a line for x = y. Label this line, “1:1”.

Part 2 – Unstable Isotopes


1. Complete the following chart for unstable isotopes.
Stable Isotope Atomic Protons Neutrons N:P Ratio
Number (x-axis) (y-axis) Ratio Reduced
Carbon – 14
Silicon – 32
Iron – 52
Zirconium - 90
Silver - 107
Xenon – 135
Mercury - 200
Lead – 214
Radium - 226
(*Note that this is only a small part of the list of unstable isotopes. There are about 70 naturally
occurring isotopes identified as unstable, and MANY more that are the result of processes such as nuclear fission.)
2. Plot the points that result from the table above, in the form (x, y), on your graph. Label each point with the identity of
the isotopes it represents.
3. On the back of the graph paper,
a. Identify a type of decay (alpha or beta) that could begin to move the isotope toward the band of stability.
b. Write a nuclear decay equation for each isotope undergoing the type of decay that you have indicated.

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