The Nuclear Model

The Nuclear Model Constituent Charge (C) Mass (kg)

We know from Rutherford’s experiment that the structure of Proton 1.6 x 10-19 1.673 x 10-27
an atom consists of positively charged protons and neutral
Neutron 0 1.675 x 10-27
neutrons in one place called the nucleus. The nucleus sits in -19
Electron - 1.6 x 10 9.1 x 10-31
the middle of the atom and has negatively charged electrons
orbiting it. The table above shows the actual charges and masses.
Almost all of the mass of the atom is in the tiny nucleus which takes up practically no space when compared to
the size of the atom. If we shrunk the Solar System so that the Sun was the size of a gold nucleus the furthest
electron would be twice the distance to Pluto.
If the nucleus was a full stop (period in US) it would be 25 m to the first electron shell, 100 to the second and
225 to the third.

Notation
A
We can represent an atom of element X in the following way: Z X
Z is the proton number. This is the number of protons in the nucleus. In an uncharged atom the number of
electrons orbiting the nucleus is equal to the number of protons.
Z is the atomic number
A is the nucleon number. This is the total number of nucleons in the nucleus (protons + neutrons) which can be
written as A = Z + N.
A is the atomic mass number
N is the neutron number. This is the number of neutrons in the nucleus.

Unified atomic mass unit

The unified atomic mass unit is defined precisely as 1/12 of the mass of an unbound neutral atom of carbon-12
in its nuclear and electronic ground state and at rest.

Isotopes
Isotopes are different forms of an element. They always have the same number of protons but have a different
number of neutrons. Since they have the same number of protons (and electrons) they behave in the same way
chemically.
Chlorine If we look at Chlorine in the periodic table we see that it is represented by 3517.5Cl . How can it have 18.5
35 37
neutrons? It can’t! There are two stable isotopes of Chlorine, 17 Cl which accounts for ~75% and 17 Cl which
35.5
accounts for ~25%. So the average of a large amount of Chlorine atoms is 17 Cl .

Ions
An atom may gain or lose electrons. When this happens the atoms becomes electrically charged (positively or
negatively). We call this an ion.
If the atom gains an electron there are more negative charges than positive, so the atom is a negative ion.
Gaining one electron would mean it has an overall charge of -1, which actually means -1.6 x 10 -19C.
Gaining two electrons would mean it has an overall charge of -2, which actually means -3.2 x 10 -19C.
If the atom loses an electron there are more positive charges than negative, so the atom is a positive ion.
Losing one electron would mean it has an overall charge of +1, which actually means +1.6 x 10 -19C.
Losing two electrons would mean it has an overall charge of +2, which actually means +3.2 x 10 -19C.
 Radioactive decay
Ionisation
The process of ionisation involves the removal of one or more electron from an atom. When radiation enters a
GM tube it may ionise the atoms inside, the electrons are attracted to a positive wire and a small current flows.
There are three types of radiation, each with its own properties, uses and dangers.

Alpha, Beta and Gamma radiation

Alpha: A Helium nucleus – two protons and two neutrons
Relative mass: 4 Relative charge: +2 Deflection by E/M field: Yes
Ionising power: High Penetrating power: Low Range in air: 5cm Stopped by: Skin, paper
Uses: Smoke detectors, radiotherapy to treat cancer
Danger out of body: Low Danger in body: Cell death, mutation and cancer
Beta: A fast moving electron
Relative mass: 1/2000 Relative charge: -1 Deflection by E/M field: Yes
Ionising power: Medium Penetrating power: Medium Range in air: 2-3m Stopped by: 5mm aluminium

Uses: Thickness control in paper production

Danger out of body: Damage to skin Danger in body: Similar to alpha but less damage
Gamma: A high frequency electromagnetic wave
Relative mass: 0 Relative charge: 0 Deflection by E/M field: No
Ionising power: Low Penetrating power: High Range in air: 15m Slowed by: Lead, concrete
Uses: Tracers: medical and industrial, sterilising surgical equipment
Danger out of body: Cell death, mutation and cancer Danger in body: Low

Background Radiation
We are continuously exposed to a certain level of background radiation. When taking measurements of the
activity of a sample, it is necessary to subtract the level of background radiation from the recorded radiation
level to get the true (or corrected) reading. The main contributors to background
radiation are:
Radon and Thoron gas: 51%
Ground, rocks and buildings:
14%
Food and drink: 12%
Medical: 12%
Cosmic rays: 10%
Air travel: 0.4%
Nuclear weapons testing: 0.3%
Occupational: 0.2%
Nuclear power: 0.1%

Decay
Something that is radioactive will decay into something that is stable. Radioactive decay happens randomly and
spontaneously: there is no way of predicting when a radioactive nucleus will decay, and external factors do not
influence it at all (e.g. pressure and temperature).
What we can do is give a probability that a nucleus will decay in a given time.

Activity, A
The activity of a radioactive source is the number of decays that happen every second.
1 becquerel is equal to one decay per second, 50 becquerels is equal to 50 decay per second,
Activity is measured in becquerels, Bq (decays per second, s -1)
Half-Life
Each radioactive isotope has its own half-life. We already know that it is:
The time it takes for the number of atoms in a sample to drop to half of its original sample or
The time it takes for the activity of a substance to drop to half of its original activity
Half-Life is measured in seconds, s
Decay graphs
We can calculate the half-life from
activity and number of nuclei graphs.
Choose a starting value and then find
how long it takes to fall to half this
value. In the graphs we can see that
both fall from 50 to 25 and take 5
hours to do this. Therefore, the half-
life is 5 hours.
 Radioactive Decay equations
Alpha Decay
An alpha particle (a Helium nucleus) is ejected from the parent nucleus.
Z X  Z  2Y  2 
A A 4 4
Loss: 2 protons, 2 neutrons

Beta Minus Decay

A neutron is transformed into a proton (that stays in the nucleus), an electron and anti-neutrino are emitted.
(The anti-neutrino is emitted to conserve energy).
A
Z X  Z A1Y  10 e   e Loss: 1 neutron Gain: 1 proton, 1 anti-neutrino

Beta Plus Decay

A proton is transformed into a neutron (that stays in the nucleus), a positron and a neutrino are emitted (The
neutrino is emitted to conserve energy).
Z X  Z 1Y  1 e   e
A A 0
Loss: 1 proton Gain: 1 neutron, 1 neutrino

Electron Capture
A nucleus can capture one of the orbiting electrons. A proton changes into a neutron.
Z X  1 e Z 1Y   e
A 0 A
Loss: 1 proton Gain: 1 neutron

Gamma Ray Emission

Alpha emission is often followed by gamma ray emission. The daughter nuclei are left in an excited state (a
higher energy level) which they will at some point fall from to the ground state, emitting a gamma photon.
There is no nuclear structure change, just a change of energy.
Z X Z X  
A A
Loss: Energy
 Discrete Energy
Observations
When light of a particular frequency shines onto a metal plate, it releases electrons from the surface straight
away. Increasing the intensity increased the number of electrons emitted. If the frequency of the light is
lowered, no electrons were emitted at all. Increasing the intensity or giving it more time does nothing, no
electrons are emitted.

If light was a Wave…

Increasing the intensity would increase the energy of the light. The energy from the light would be evenly
spread over the metal and each electron would be given a small amount of energy. Eventually the electron
would have enough energy to be removed from the metal.

Photons
Max Planck had the idea that light could be released in ‘chunks’ or packets of energy. Einstein named these
wave-packets photons. The energy carried by a photon is given by the equation:

hc
E  hf Since c  f we can also write this as: E 


Where c is the speed of light in a vacuum = 3x108ms-1

Planck’s constant h=6.63x10-34 J s

Wave-Particle Duality
Wave-particle duality means that light sometimes behave like a particle and sometimes like a wave:

Light as a Wave
Diffraction, interference, polarisation and refraction all prove that light has wave properties.
Light as a Particle
We have seen that the photoelectric effect shows that light can behave as a particle called a photon.
 Excitation and Energy Levels
The Electronvolt, eV
The Joule is too big as a unit of energy to use for atomic energy levels, so we use the electronvolt, represented
by eV.
One electronvolt is equal to the energy gained by an electron of charge e, when it is accelerated through a
potential difference of 1 volt. 1eV = 1.6 x 10-19J 1J = 6.25 x 1018eV
eV  J multiply by e J  eV divide by e
Rutherford’s nuclear model of the atom leaves us with a problem: a charged particle emits radiation when it
accelerates. This would mean that the electrons would fall into the nucleus.
Energy Levels
Niels Bohr solved this problem by suggesting that the electrons could only orbit the nucleus in certain ‘allowed’
energy levels. He suggested that an electron may only transfer energy when it moves from one energy level to
another. A change from one level to another is called a ‘transition’.
To move up and energy level the electron must gain the
exact amount of energy to make the transition.
It can do this by another electron colliding with it or
by absorbing a photon of the exact energy.
When moving down a level the electron must lose the
exact amount of energy when making the transition.
It releases this energy as a photon of energy equal
to the energy it loses.
E  hf  E1  E 2
E1 is the energy of the level the electron starts at and E2 is
the energy of the level the electron ends at
Excitation
When an electron gains the exact amount of energy to move up one or more energy levels
De-excitation
When an electron gives out the exact amount of energy to move back down to its original energy level
Ionisation
An electron can gain enough energy to be completely removed from the atom.
The ground state and the energy levels leading up to ionisation have negative values of energy, this is because
they are compared to the ionisation level. Remember that energy must be given to the electrons to move up a
level and is lost (or given out) when it moves down a level.
Line Spectra
Atoms of the same element have same energy levels. Each
transition releases a photon with a set amount of energy meaning
the frequency and wavelength are also set. The wavelength of
light is responsible for colour it is. We can analyse the light by
using a diffraction grating to separate light into the colours that
makes it up, called its line spectra. Each
element has its own line spectra like a
barcode.
To the above right are the line spectra of Hydrogen and Helium.
We can calculate the energy difference that created the colour.
If we know the energy differences for each element we can work out which element
is responsible for the light and hence deduce which elements are present.
We can see that there are 6 possible transitions in the diagram to the left, A to F.
D has an energy difference of 1.9 eV or 3.04 x 10-19 J which corresponds to a
frequency of 4.59 x 1014 Hz and a wavelength of 654 nm – red.