Nuclear Chemistry Review Sheet – Honors Chemistry
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Know who discovered radioactivity and who was the first to study radioactivity. Know when
radioactivity was discovered (look it up).
Know what it means to be a “radioactive substance”
Know about the three main types of particles emitted – alpha, beta, and gamma radiation
o Know their symbols, and what they are
o Know how to write a decay reaction where any of these particles are emitted
o Know the order of penetrating ability for these three particles
Know what half-life is
Know about the zone of stability
o Understand the different parts of the chart given in the text
o Understand that if an isotope is above the zone of stability, it must emit a -particle in order to
turn a neutron into a proton
o Understand that if an isotope is below the zone of stability, it must emit a positron in order to
turn a proton into a neutron
o Know that all isotopes with atomic number greater than 83 are unstable
Radiocarbon dating:
o Know that C-14 is continually replenished by cosmic rays
o Know how plants and animals get C-14 into their bodies
o Know why C-14 is no longer replenished after death
o Know that all living things have a set percentage of C-14 in their bodies
o Understand that by knowing the percentage of C-14 in the body of a living plant/animal, the ½
life of C-14, and the current amount of C-14 in a fossil, it is possible to tell how old a fossil is
 We can tell how much C-14 has decayed, relative to the original amount, and this
tells us how old the fossil is
o Know that C-14 undergoes -decay
 Be able to write the reaction
Nuclear weapons & nuclear reactors
o Know what the terms fission and fissile mean
o Know that U-235 is fissile
o Know the reaction that takes place when a neutron collides with U-235 (you should know the
actual reaction and be able to write it)
o Understand that the neutrons that are released when a U-235 undergoes fission can then be
used to cause another U-235 to undergo fission, which can lead to a self-sustaining chain of
nuclear fission
o Know that a critical mass is necessary in order to attain a self-sustaining chain
o Understand how the “Little Boy” nuclear weapon worked
 By bringing two samples of U-235 together, a critical mass was reached, which
caused the explosion
o Know the basics of how a nuclear reactor functions
o Know the relative percentages of U-238/U-235 for natural uranium, reactor grade uranium,
weapons grade uranium, and depleted uranium.
 Which has the most U-235? Which has the least? Why?
 In addition to the terms used above, know the terms “low enriched uranium” and
“highly enriched uranium”
Nuclear Fusion
o Know what fusion is
o Know the overall reaction for the fusion of hydrogen atoms to form helium-4 (you don’t have
to know all of the individual reactions given in the text, just the overall reaction given in class)
o Know that as our star gets older and the hydrogen fuel is used up, eventually it will form Li,
Be, B, & C
o Know that only larger stars form the heavier elements, but the heaviest element that can be
formed in a star is lead
o Know that heavier elements are all formed in supernovae
o Know that hydrogen bombs use nuclear fusion of hydrogen
o Know that intense research is being done to try to get nuclear fusion to be a viable energy
source for us here on earth