1. Types of Radioactive Decay Kinetics of Decay Nuclear Transmutations
Nuclear Chemistry
Types of Radioactive Decay
Kinetics of Decay
Nuclear Transmutations

2. Remember the Nucleus
Remember that the nucleus is comprised of the two nucleons, protons and neutrons.
The number of protons is the atomic number.
The number of protons and neutrons together is effectively the mass of the atom.

3. Isotopes
Not all atoms of the same element have the same mass due to different numbers of neutrons in those atoms.
There are, for example, three naturally occurring isotopes of uranium:
Uranium-234
Uranium-235
Uranium-238

4. Radioactivity: Kinetic Stability
It is common for some nuclides of an element to be unstable, or radioactive.
We refer to these as radionuclides.
They can spontaneously decay emitting electromagnetic radiation and particles .

5. Types of Radioactive Decay

6. Alpha Decay
Alpha decay is the loss of an -particle (a helium nucleus), results in more stable iosotope. He 4 2
-particle = U
238 92

234 90 He 4 2 +

7. Beta Decay
Beta decay is the loss of a -particle (a high energy electron).  −1 e or I
131 53 Xe 54
 + e −1

8. e C B e Positron Emission1
Some nuclei decay by emitting a positron, a particle that has the same mass as but opposite charge to that of an electron. C 11 6
 B 5 + e 1

9. Gamma Emission 
This is the loss of a -ray, which is high-energy radiation that almost always accompanies the loss of a nuclear particle.

10. Electron Capture (K-Capture) p. 878
Addition of an electron to a proton in the nucleus is known as electron capture or K-capture.
The result of this process is that a proton is transformed into a neutron. p 1 + e −1
 n

11. Summary Table p. 879