Showing posts with label beta decay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beta decay. Show all posts

20190515

Physics quiz archive: radioactive decay, Feynman diagrams

Physics 205B Quiz 7, spring semester 2019
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
Sections 30882, 30883, version 1
Exam code: quiz07SGnD



Sections 30882, 30883 results
0- 6 :   * [low = 6]
7-12 :   ****
13-18 :   ***********
19-24 :   ************* [mean = 20.3 +/- 5.9]
25-30 :   ******* [high = 30]

20190501

Online reading assignment: radioactive decay modes

Physics 205B, spring semester 2019
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.

The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on radioactive decay modes.


Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe what you understand from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically demonstrate your level of understanding.
"Whether it's stable or unstable, a nucleus always contains a set number of positively-charged protons and neutrally-charged neutrons. Neutrons and protons can be turned into each other to bring stability."

"Radiation is produced from an unstable isotope trying to become stable. If an isotope has too many protons or neutrons to be stable, it has multiple ways to compensate and become stable, all of which produce a different form of radiation."

"Neutrons help keep protons in the nucleus together. I also understood a little about decays."

"The key to stability for all atomic nuclei is being able to keep the protons in the nucleus together. A nucleus with more than 83 protons will always be unstable."

"Having a similar ratio of neutrons to protons makes the nucleus stable. Having more than 83 protons makes the element unstable. There is a force that sticks the protons and neutrons together in the nucleus if the number of protons and neutrons are about the same."

"A strong force holds a nucleus together. When the ratio of protons and neutrons is too uneven, the forces in the nucleus are unstable and fission or decay will occur to balance it. Radioactive decay involves emissions from the nuclei. It can change protons into neutrons and vice versa."

"I think I understand the basic concepts of the nucleus wanting to be more stable. If there are too many protons, they and some neutrons can be ejected to get equal to or below 83 protons. If there are too many protons to neutrons, then electrons can be eaten by the protons to turn them into neutrons. If there are too many neutrons to protons, then electrons can be spit out of neutrons, resulting in more protons."

"I understand the chemistry side of the concepts."

Describe what you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically identify the concept(s) that you do not understand.
"It's a bit confusing thinking about a half-life of a radioactive isotope. For example, if you have 10 grams of a radioactive isotope and it has a half-life of 10 years, why does it take 10 years for that radiation to be emitted and for half of the isotopes to become stable? Why do the individual isotopes release their radiation at different times?"

"Stability versus instability."

"Can you please talk a little bit more on how to stabilize an unstable atom?"

"Working with the different radioactive decays."

"While the rules are presented clearly, I still find it hard to determine what type of decay unstable nuclei will undergo."

"Not confident on which process turns protons to neutrons, and vice versa."

"What types of decay lose protons versus gaining them."

"I'm confused on the electron capture process. An electron is eaten, but why are protons decreased and neutrons increased?"

"Gamma decay is confusing since it is different from the other decays."

"The decay processes were a lot to remember. Maybe more explanations on electron capture with the processes would be helpful in lecture."

"Nothing, I love this chapter."

Explain what a "nucleon number" is, and/or describe how to calculate it for a nucleus.
"The total number of protons and neutrons in an atomic nucleus."

"The nucleon number is essentially the mass number of an atom. It is calculated by adding the number of protons and neutrons together. Electrons are not involved because their mass is negligible and therefor not required."

"Z + N = A."

Identify the processes that increase, decrease, or do not change the number of protons in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: decrease. [78%]
β– decay: increase. [63%]
β+ decay: decrease. [50%]
electron capture: decrease. [25%]
γ decay: does not change. [69%]

Identify the processes that increase, decrease, or do not change the number of neutrons in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: decrease. [65%]
β– decay: decrease. [59%]
β+ decay: increase. [59%]
electron capture: increase. [28%]
γ decay: does not change. [69%]

Identify the processes that change a proton to a neutron, or change a neutron to a proton in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: no p/n conversion. [50%]
β– decay: n → p. [66%]
β+ decay: p → n. [63%]
electron capture: p → n. [22%]
γ decay: no p/n conversion. [59%]

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"This is so fun because we are learning the same thing in chemistry right now! Just before doing this homework, I learned what alpha, beta and gamma rays are that are emitted from the nucleus of an atom. Whoa!"

"Not gonna lie, this section made my brain hurt..."

"I would like to see more real life examples of how decay is applied."

"I liked the information about smoke alarms! Very important/relevant to me!"

"The concept of electron capture confused me a little bit, mostly because I don't recall learning about it in chemistry." (Chemistry teachers seem to not want to talk about electron capture, for some reason.)
"YOU MUST MAKE QUIZ 6 REALLY EASY OR RISK DOOMING US ALL!" (Physics 205B: Endgame.)

"Excited for our midterm!"

20180509

Physics quiz archive: radioactive decay, Feynman diagrams

Physics 205B Quiz 7, spring semester 2018
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
Sections 30882, 30883, version 1
Exam code: quiz07NWst



Sections 30882, 30883 results
0- 6 :   ***** [low = 3]
7-12 :   ******
13-18 :   ******** [mean = 16.2 +/- 7.7]
19-24 :   ********
25-30 :   **** [high = 30]

20180425

Online reading assignment: radioactive decay modes

Physics 205B, spring semester 2018
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.

The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on radioactive decay modes.


Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe what you understand from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically demonstrate your level of understanding.
"The atomic number represents the total amount of protons. The nucleon number represents the combined number of protons and neutrons. The number of neutrons can be determined by having the nucleon number minus the atomic number."

"The different decays all achieve stability through different means. Some expel particles while other transform particles into other ones."

"The key to stability is being able to keep the protons in the nucleus together. Alpha decay is how a nucleus with excess protons achieves a more stable configuration. Beta-minus decay is how a nucleus with excess neutrons achieves a more stable configuration. Beta-plus decay is how a nucleus that is neutron deficient achieves a more stable configuration. Gamma decay is how a nucleus achieves a more stable configuration, but not because it has too many protons, or the wrong ratio of protons to neutrons."

"For all atomic nuclei the key to stability is being able to keep the protons in the nucleus together. Also, having a certain number of neutrons in the nucleus will decrease the proton-proton repulsion."

"For all atomic nuclei, to have stability they have to keep the protons in the nucleus together, in spite of them all repelling each other. They need to have the proper ratio of neutrons, approximately equal to or slightly greater than the number of protons. More than 83 protons would automatically make the nucleus unstable."

"Stability conditions. A nucleus with more than 83 protons will always be unstable. Neutrons help to balance out proton to proton repulsion so it's necessary to have more neutrons than protons in a nucleus in order to be stabilized. The different decay processes we are learning about are used by nuclei to help them reach stable conditions depending on what makes them unstable to begin with."

"Radioactive decay occurs in four ways. If a nucleus has more than 83 protons, it will emit He to decrease p and n equally (alpha particles). If protons are significantly less than neutrons, neutrons will be converted to protons, releasing antineutrinos and electrons (Β particles). If protons are more numerous than neutrons, protons will be converted to neutrons, releasing positrons (Β+ particles) and neutrinos. Nuclei become excited after decay and will release photons to 'calm down' (gamma particles)."

"This is pretty basic chemistry stuff, it doesn't seem to be a problem."

Describe what you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically identify the concept(s) that you do not understand.
"The different types of decay--from a problem-solving perspective it would just be nice to see some different examples going through how to sort each type of decay."

"Most of this was a good refresher on decay and specifically all of the types of it that I learned in the tail-end of my general chemistry series last year."

"I don't understand the difference between a nucleus that is stable or unstable."

"Electron capture and the 'swallowing' thing. And also a bit of gamma decay."

"I like radioactive decay."

"I am having a harder time with gamma (γ) decay. I will do more research to clarify the topic but for right now I'm not grasping it."

"I feel like electron capture was passed over too quickly, I don't really understand what happens."

"What is a neutrino and can it be positive or negative?"

"Outside of confusing the different decay processes this is thankfully review from other classes. "

Explain what a "nucleon number" is, and/or describe how to calculate it for a nucleus.
"It is the total number of protons and neutrons inside the atomic nucleus."

"The nucleon number is the total number of nucleons (protons and electrons), such that the number of neutrons is the difference between the nucleon number and atomic number."

"Not there yet."

Identify the processes that increase, decrease, or do not change the number of protons in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: decrease. [77%]
β– decay: increase. [77%]
β+ decay: decrease. [77%]
electron capture: decrease. [38%]
γ decay: does not change. [69%]

Identify the processes that increase, decrease, or do not change the number of neutrons in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: decrease. [69%]
β– decay: decrease. [65%]
β+ decay: increase. [65%]
electron capture: increase. [19%]
γ decay: does not change. [65%]

Identify the processes that change a proton to a neutron, or change a neutron to a proton in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: no p/n conversion. [62%]
β– decay: n → p. [73%]
β+ decay: p → n. [69%]
electron capture: p → n. [35%]
γ decay: no p/n conversion. [69%]

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"Quiz 6 is going to be awful...I have such a hard time with the right-hand rules and flux laws."

"This seems like it is going to be the most interesting section to date!"

"I think I'll like this chapter a lot better than the previous ones!"

"Could we go over electron capture?"

20170513

Physics quiz archive: radioactive decay, Feynman diagrams

Physics 205B Quiz 7, spring semester 2017
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
Sections 30882, 30883, version 1
Exam code: quiz07N4ci



Sections 30882, 30883 results
0- 6 :   **** [low = 0]
7-12 :   ************** [mean = 10.5 +/- 6.1]
13-18 :   *****
19-24 :   *
25-30 :   * [high = 27]

20170428

Online reading assignment: radioactive decay modes

Physics 205B, spring semester 2017
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.

The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on radioactive decay modes.


Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe what you understand from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically demonstrate your level of understanding.
"A nucleus must have just the right ratio of protons to neutrons or the atom becomes unstable."

"Nucleus, protons, neutrons, electrons...yeah I got this"

"Did not get to it"

"I understood that when there is not the correct ratios of protons to neutrons that the atom will turn a proton into a neutron or vice versa. There are a few different types of decay: alpha, beta (+), beta (–), and gamma."

"Decay occurs as a nucleus attempts to become more stable. A proper balance of protons and neutrons is necessary for stability. If balance is not maintained, protons may be transformed into neutrons (or vice versa), or proton/neutron couples can be released."

"The reason nuclei are unstable are due to the unfavorable ratio of protons to neutrons. The charges and forces protons carry are too much for the nuclei too handle if out of proportion."

"A nucleus containing more than 83 protons is unstable. If there are more neutrons than protons or the same amount then there is stability."

"Greater than 83 protons means unstable nuclei no matter how many neutrons. Having approximately the same number of protons as neutrons will make the nucleus stable."

"I have covered some of this in chemistry, so I know some of it but not well."

"The nucleus of an atom is composed of nucleons, that is, protons and neutrons. Radioactive decay occurs to lower the nucleus' energy state through a shift in the configuration/numbers of nucleons or when rays are released. There are five different types of radioactive decay: alpha, beta-positive, beta-negative, electron capture, and gamma."

"I understand the composition of an atom as well as the various types of decay because I have learned it before in my physics class. Alpha and gamma decay is very solid in my mind."

"I understand that alpha particles are decay that are equivalent to a helium atom flying off, thus changing the element overall to two less protons and two less neutrons. A beta particle or decay is where the radioactive material becomes a different element by gaining or losing a proton."BR>
"There are different ways for radioactive material to decay. I never knew protons could be emitted or change to neutrons and back"

"Nuclear instability is the result of an improper ratio of neutrons to protons in a nucleus. The nucleus will then emit several different types of particles in order to achieve a more stable state, depending on the number of each to begin with. The three types of decay are: alpha decay (He nucleus) Beta minus (n->p + e–) beta plus (p->n + e+) and gamma (decay->photon)."

"I understand that nuclei stable or unstable have a set of positive charged protons and neutrally charged neutrons and that from chemistry, the periodic table and how to read a specific element from the table. I also understand now that as a radioactive decay process occurs, a nucleus with an unstable configuration always seeks a more stable configuration."

"For all atomic nuclei, big and small, the key to stability is being able to keep the protons in the nucleus together. A nucleus containing more than 83 protons will always be unstable, no matter how many neutrons there are."

Describe what you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically identify the concept(s) that you do not understand.
"Mixing up the different kinds of decay. As in which are alpha, beta, and so on."

"On the homework problems for the half-life and exponential problems those were a tiny bit confusing because it wasn't clear to me that R0 is the original rate of decay. So, doing those problems shed some light on that."

"he strong force. I understand how it is applied in the class notes for neutron balance, but what makes it different from electromagnetic force?"

"I don't really find it confusing, but I found it I retesting that neutrons and protons switch back and forth into each other inside a nucleus. I always thought they were the same 100% of the time."

"How the ratio of protons to neutrons effects the stability of the nucleus."

"I didn't understand either of the beta decays."

"Beta positive versus beta negative decay. I could benefit from some examples in class of that and also when the nucleus swallows an neutron."

"I do not understand how the neutrons hold the protons together in a nuclide in almost a 1:1 ratio up until 20 protons and then start having to dramatically increase the number of neutrons per proton."

"That protons can be turned into neutrons; I thought the protons were what made a particular element a particular element."

"Electron capture."

"Parts about different processes that unstable nuclei can undergo to achieve stable configurations. This material is very interesting, but a little difficult to understand in terms of how they all apply in a physics sense."

"I understand how you tell if a nucleus is stable or unstable, but could use a little help in determining what it would take to make it stable."

"Trying to identify the processes that increase or decrease or do not change protons into neutrons."

"Not much."

"Nada."

Explain what a "nucleon number" is, and/or describe how to calculate it for a nucleus.
"The nucleon number is also the 'mass number,' and it can be found in the top left corner of each elements box on the periodic table. It is the number of protons and neutron in an atom."

"The total number of protons and electrons."

"Nucleon number is noted as 'A', neutrons = AZ(atomic number, or the number of protons)."

Identify the processes that increase, decrease, or do not change the number of protons in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: decrease. [87%]
β– decay: increase. [65%]
β+ decay: decrease. [70%]
electron capture: decrease. [17%]
γ decay: does not change. [78%]

Identify the processes that increase, decrease, or do not change the number of neutrons in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: decrease. [57%]
β– decay: decrease. [83%]
β+ decay: increase. [78%]
electron capture: increase. [22%]
γ decay: does not change. [83%]

Identify the processes that change a proton to a neutron, or change a neutron to a proton in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: no p/n conversion. [70%]
β– decay: n → p. [87%]
β+ decay: p → n. [70%]
electron capture: p → n. [26%]
γ decay: no p/n conversion. [83%]

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"Is my smoke detector giving off harmful radiation?" (Only if you crack it open.)

"What causes the emission of positrons or electrons when protons or neutrons transform into each other?" (Charge and mass must be conserved. Also a neutron is just a proton with an electron added to it. Weird, huh?)

"A neutron walked into a bar and asked, 'how much for a gin and tonic?' the bartender said, For you, no charge.'" (#rimshot)

"Wouldn't electron capture simply balance the charge of the entire atom, and not affect the nucleus?" (It might make the atom ionized, as it would lose an electron, and definitely affect the nucleus it turning a proton into a neutron.)

20160615

Physics quiz question: interpreting β+ decay Feynman diagram

Physics 205B Quiz 7, spring semester 2016
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

This (valid) Feynman diagram depicts the __________ process.
(A) α.
(B) β.
(C) β+.
(D) electron capture.
(E) γ.

Correct answer (highlight to unhide): (C)

This diagram shows β+ decay, where a proton transforms into a neutron, and the intermediate W+ particle decays into a neutrino and a positron, as shown by the left-to-right neutrino arrow, and a right-to-left electron arrow (corresponding to a positron--the "β+" particle--progressing left-to-right as time progresses).

Sections 30882, 30883
Exam code: quiz07eYE5
(A) : 2 students
(B) : 3 students
(C) : 30 students
(D) : 5 students
(E) : 0 students

Success level: 75%
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.60

20160429

Online reading assignment: radioactive decay modes

Physics 205B, spring semester 2016
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.

The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on radioactive decay modes.


Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe what you understand from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically demonstrate your level of understanding.
"Protons and neutrons make up the nucleus. Greater than 83 protons, more protons than neutrons, or excess neutrons create instability. This can be stabalized in a few ways: alpha, beta minus, beta plus, and gamma decay."

"Contrails in a cloud chamber, produced by natural background radioactive decay particles passing through cold, alcohol-saturated air. Radioactive particles from natural background decays zing around all the time, whether or not the air just so happens to be cold and alcohol-saturated."

"We cannot count radio active atoms we can only count how many decayed atoms there are. Atoms decay randomly but we are able to give each isotope a half-life based on the number of daughters it produces during a period of time."

"The neutrons in the nucleus of an atom help to mitigate the repulsion forces the protons exert on themselves and helps keep the nucleus intact (strong force). A nucleus of an atom is stable only when the number of protons is slightly lower than or equal to the number of neutrons; if these conditions are not met, then the atom will undergo some sort of decay to stabilize the nucleus."

"What I was able to gather from the reading is that the 'backbone' of an atomic nuclei are the neutrons within the nucleus. As I learned in chemistry last semester (physics has made me question how much I can rely on what I learned) the number of protons in an atom is equal to the amount of neutrons (I say this reluctantly now). So even while protons repel from each other, the neutrons within the nucleus sort of balance out this repulsion so that the atomic nuclei itself can remain whole. Until there are 83 protons in which the amount of repulsion within the nuclei despite the amount of neutrons will subsequently result in an unstable nucleus. I know I'm talking about stuff that doesn't directly regard physics, however, I've been trying to dive into the chemistry we have been talking about because I'm realizing now that my chemistry class was even more basic than I had originally thought."

"What keeps together the nucleus in an atom is the attraction between the protons and the neutrons and the ratio of them is important (because neutrons turn into protons and vice versa WHAAAT!). When there are more than 83 protons than normal then alpha radiation occurs. When there are more protons in the ratio then beta minus occurs while a bunch more neutrons in the ratio causes beta plus radiation. After a nucleus returns from an excited state they still may have to much energy which they may release through gamma radiation."

Describe what you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically identify the concept(s) that you do not understand.
"It makes sense, but HOW. Magic repulsion and stickiness?"

"This presentation went very well. I really thought this presentation helped a lot, it even helped me understand whats going on in chemistry better thanks!"

"I am confused on how the electron capture is calculated. I don't know how to determine the number of protons or neutrons in the electron capture."

"What I found confusing about the reading is how the heck does a proton turn into a neutron and vice versa! More importantly how the heck is a neutron 'intrinsically' unstable!!! Physics is making me question the very little amount of things I know about chemistry."

"I'm mostly confused about the strong force that nucleons exert on each other that sticks them together. If a neutron has no charge...how can they possibly be attracted to anything? Or is this just something that isn't quite understood yet?"

"Nothing. I've got this chemistry on lock!"

Explain what a "nucleon number" is, and/or describe how to calculate it for a nucleus.
"The nucleon number denotes the total number of nucleons (protons and electrons), such that the number of neutrons is the difference between the nucleon number and atomic number."

"The total number of protons and neutrons. Z + N = A."

Identify the processes that increase, decrease, or do not change the number of protons in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: decrease. [80%]
β– decay: increase. [74%]
β+ decay: decrease. [66%]
electron capture: decrease. [34%]
γ decay: does not change. [71%]

Identify the processes that increase, decrease, or do not change the number of neutrons in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: decrease. [77%]
β– decay: decrease. [69%]
β+ decay: increase. [71%]
electron capture: increase. [26%]
γ decay: does not change. [74%]

Identify the processes that change a proton to a neutron, or change a neutron to a proton in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: no p/n conversion. [77%]
β– decay: n → p. [77%]
β+ decay: p → n. [74%]
electron capture: p → n. [29%]
γ decay: no p/n conversion. [80%]

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"This stuff is basically alchemy. That's so awesome!"

"This antimatter electron twin stuff is freaky. Somebody should have Antman jump into a positron annihalating an electron and see which universe he ends up in."

"I need to start showing up to class again. I'm losing patience with this semester. Thank God we have three weeks left."

20150516

Physics quiz archive: radioactive decay, Feynman diagrams

Physics 205B Quiz 7, spring semester 2015
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
Sections 30882, 30883, version 1
Exam code: quiz07d4wN


Sections 30882, 30883 results
0- 6 :   **** [low = 3]
7-12 :   ******
13-18 :   *************
19-24 :   ****** [mean = 18.4 +/- 7.8]
25-30 :   *********** [high = 30]

20150501

Online reading assignment: radioactive decay modes

Physics 205B, spring semester 2015
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.

The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on radioactive decay modes.


Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe what you understand from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically demonstrate your level of understanding.
"There are different types of radioactive decay, which affect the chemistry of an element differently. The more protons there are (as well as neutrons) the stronger the nucleus tries to hold together (and these protons and neutrons are 'transforming' into each other which contributes to this strong force). For alpha decay, a helium atom is ejected from the nucleus. Beta negative: a neutron is transformed into a proton and an electron. For beta positive: a positron is emitted (an electron with a positive charge)."

"The joy of radioactivity. An atomic nucleus will always try to achieve stability if it has too many protons (more than 83), too few protons, or too many neutrons. Ironically, neutrons themselves are unstable and constantly switch back and forth between neutrons or protons. So in order to achieve stability they must eject neutrons/protons if they have too many protons, an event called alpha decay. Transforming neutrons into protons, if it's got too many neutrons, called beta- decay, this has the added benefit of emitting an electron and neutrino. Then there's beta+ decay if a nucleus has too few neutrons, by converting protons into neutrons, and releasing a positron and neutrino. Finally, if the nucleus still has excess energy, it is emitted in the form of gamma rays, known as gamma decay."

"Beta- decay turns neutrons into protons and beta+ does the opposite. They do this because a nucleus is trying to maintain a stable ratio of protons to neutrons, and this is some of the couple ways that it can be done."

Describe what you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically identify the concept(s) that you do not understand.
"Nothing, this was my favorite part of general chemistry."

"This class suddenly seems to be getting into chemistry."

"Honestly its hard to pinpoint one part that's confusing, it's all rather confusing at this point."

"What is electron capture? Why can there be more neutrons but never more protons?"

"I don't understand how the protons change into neutrons or neutrons change into protons."

"I understand the 'sticky' strong force that keeps protons and neutrons together and thus a nucleus stable, but it's kinda weird to all of a sudden be talking about a totally different kind of force."

Explain what a "nucleon number" is, and/or describe how to calculate it for a nucleus.
"I don't know what nucleon number is or how to calculate it."

"It's the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom."

Identify the processes that increase, decrease, or do not change the number of protons in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: decrease. [68%]
β– decay: increase. [62%]
β+ decay: decrease. [71%]
electron capture: decrease. [32%]
γ decay: does not change. [59%]

Identify the processes that increase, decrease, or do not change the number of neutrons in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: decrease. [62%]
β– decay: decrease. [65%]
β+ decay: increase. [68%]
electron capture: increase. [42%]
γ decay: does not change. [56%]

Identify the processes that change a proton to a neutron, or change a neutron to a proton in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: no p/n conversion. [53%]
β– decay: n → p. [68%]
β+ decay: p → n. [68%]
electron capture: p → n. [44%]
γ decay: no p/n conversion. [56%]

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"Studying or not studying, reading or not reading, same scores on quizzes. I would prefer more explanations before I read." (Let's try testing one more independent variable--asking questions in office hours, or not asking questions in office hours.)

"What would you say is the most important equation or equations to focus on for our midterm next week?" (All of them. Or none of them. What I mean to say is that you should be able to explain how to use equations to explain your answers, as I already know you can all plug-and-chug equations.)

"This stuff is nonsense. Yet very fun to think about."

"Thanks for your diligence for all your help."

"I'm working 40 hours a week I think work and school are both getting difficult. I'm trying my best to push through and earn a good grade in this class."

20140520

Physics quiz question: decay(s) converting protons to neutrons

Physics 205B Quiz 7, spring semester 2014
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Cf. Giambattista/Richardson/Richardson, Physics, 2/e, Multiple-Choice Question 29.1

The __________ process(es) convert a proton into a neutron.
(A) α.
(B) β.
(C) β+.
(D) electron capture.
(E) γ.
(F) (More than one of the above choices.)
(G) (None of the above choices.)

Correct answer (highlight to unhide): (F)

For β+ decay, a proton is converted into a neutron (and emits a positron and a neutrino); for electron capture, a proton combines with an electron to convert into a neutron (and emits a neutrino); both of these processes convert protons into neutrons.

Section 30882
Exam code: quiz07bC4n
(A) : 4 students
(B) : 4 students
(C) : 9 students
(D) : 2 students
(E) : 0 students
(F) : 18 students
(G) : 0 students

Success level: 47%
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.93

20140516

Physics quiz archive: radioactive decay, Feynman diagrams

Physics 205B Quiz 7, spring semester 2014
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
Sections 30882, 30883, version 1
Exam code: quiz07bC4n



Sections 30882, 30883 results
0- 6 :  
7-12 :   *** [low = 12]
13-18 :   ****************
19-24 :   ************ [mean = 20.4 +/- 5.4]
25-30 :   ******* [high = 30]

20140430

Online reading assignment: radioactive decay modes

Physics 205B, spring semester 2014
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.

The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on radioactive decay modes.

Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe what you understand from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically demonstrate your level of understanding.
"A nucleus must have just the right ratio of protons to neutrons or the atom becomes unstable."

"This presentation was an overview of basic chemistry. I never knew about the stability within the protons and neutrons."

"I understand everything in this section--it is just a lot of memorization to know what each type of process includes."

"I understand how to calculate the number of protons, electrons, and neutrons when given a variable. I get the stability conditions for atoms. I get that atoms give off radiation to become more stable."

"I remember the different types of decays from chemistry, but the presentation was a good refresher, especially about unstable and stable nuclei."

"I took a basic chemistry class last semester, so quite a bit of this stuff is fairly familiar. Also, even though I was unfamiliar with the different decay processes before this section, I feel pretty confident in my ability to utilize them when needed."

"A neutron equals a proton and an electron, and a proton equals a neutron and a positron."

Describe what you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically identify the concept(s) that you do not understand.
"Electron capture wasn't very clear on if it does anything to the protons/neutrons, I'm guessing that they stay the same. Everything else isn't too bad."

"I'm still mixing up the different kinds of decay. As in which are alpha, beta, and so forth. I think with practice I will be fine."

"Pretty straightforward. No problems so far."

Explain what a "nucleon number" is, and/or describe how to calculate it for a nucleus.
"The total number of protons and neutrons. Z + N = A."

"Denotes the number of nucleons (protons and electrons) where the number of neutrons is the nucleon number minus the atomic number."

"The nucleon number is also the 'mass number,' and it can be found in the top left corner of each elements box on the periodic table. It is the number of protons and neutron in an atom."

Identify the processes that increase, decrease, or do not change the number of protons in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: decrease. [82%]
β– decay: increase. [75%]
β+ decay: decrease. [68%]
electron capture: decrease. [43%]
γ decay: do not change. [75%]

Identify the processes that increase, decrease, or do not change the number of neutrons in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: decrease. [50%]
β– decay: decrease. [79%]
β+ decay: increase. [71%]
electron capture: increase. [32%]
γ decay: do not change. [79%]

Identify the processes that change a proton to a neutron, or change a neutron to a proton in the nucleus.
(Only correct responses shown.)
α decay: no p/n conversion. [61%]
β– decay: n → p. [79%]
β+ decay: p → n. [79%]
electron capture: p → n. [36%]
γ decay: no p/n conversion. [82%]

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"Can we make antimatter?" (Ask your doctor if you can get a PET scan. They'll typically inject you with fludeoxyglucose containing 18F atoms, which will undergo β+ decay. Since the β+ particle is a positron--the antimatter version of an electron--you will be "making" antimatter.)

"I wish there was more math and equations instead of just stuff to memorize."

"I just want to go over examples of each decay process and then I'll be good."

"A lot of late second-semester chemistry carryover."

"This material is really interesting. I am looking forward to this lecture"

20130521

Physics quiz question: interpreting β decay Feynman diagram

Physics 205B Quiz 7, spring semester 2013
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Cf. Giambattista/Richardson/Richardson, Physics, 2/e, Multiple-Choice Question 29.1

A Feynman diagram is shown at right. A __________ exits this interaction event.
(A) neutron.
(B) neutrino.
(C) positron.
(D) proton.
(E) (More than one of the above choices.)
(F) (None of the above choices.)

Correct answer (highlight to unhide): (D)

This diagram shows β- decay, where a neutron transforms into a proton, and the intermediate W- particle decays into an electron and an antineutrino, as shown by the left-to-right electron arrow, and a right-to-left neutrino arrow (corresponding to an antineutrino progressing left-to-right as time progresses). Thus of the above four choices, only a proton leaves this interaction event, as a neutron enters it, and an antineutrino and electron leave the interaction event (but neither of which are listed as choices).

Section 30882
Exam code: quiz07f3yN
(A) : 4 students
(B) : 6 students
(C) : 2 students
(D) : 9 students
(E) : 11 students
(F) : 0 students

Success level: 29%
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.19

Physics quiz question: decay(s) for decreasing proton number

Physics 205B Quiz 7, spring semester 2013
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Cf. Giambattista/Richardson/Richardson, Physics, 2/e, Multiple-Choice Question 29.1

Which decay mode decreases the number of protons in a nucleus?
(A) α.
(B) β.
(C) β+.
(D) electron capture.
(E) γ.
(F) (More than one of the above choices.)
(G) (None of the above choices.)

Correct answer: (F)

For α decay, a helium nucleus with two protons and two neutrons is emitted from the unstable nucleus; for β+ decay, a proton is converted into a neutron (and emits a positron and a neutrino); for electron capture, a proton combines with an electron to convert into a neutron (and emits a neutrino); all of these processes decrease the number of protons in a nucleus.

For γ decay a photon is emitted, and there is no change in the number of protons (or neutrons) in the nucleus. For β- decay, a neutron transforms into a proton (and emits an electron and an antineutrino), which increases the number of protons in the nucleus.

Section 30882
Exam code: quiz07f3yN
(A) : 1 student
(B) : 6 students
(C) : 3 students
(D) : 0 students
(E) : 0 students
(F) : 22 students
(G) : 0 students

Success level: 69%
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.21

Physics quiz archive: radioactive decay, Feynman diagrams

Physics 205B Quiz 7, spring semester 2013
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
Section 30882, version 1
Exam code: quiz07f3yN



Section 30882 results
0- 6 : ** [low = 0]
7-12 : ****
13-18 : ************* [mean = 18.4 +/- 7.2]
19-24 : *****
25-30 : ******** [high = 30]

20130430

Online reading assignment: radioactive decay modes

Physics 205B, spring semester 2013
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.

The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on radioactive decay modes.

Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe something you found interesting from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally interesting for you.
"I found it very interesting that the nucleus of the atom that is decaying simply want to be more stable and changes to become that and therefore emits some particle."

"It was interesting to read about the strong force and that it is responsible for holding the nucleus together."

"That protons can become neutrons."

"I like how this lecture seems kinda like chemistry."

"I find it interesting that we are learning the same thing in my chemistry class!"

"I found the PET scan image interesting and how when sugar molecules are ingested they can be configured to be metabolized only in certain tissues, and will then give off positrons in these regions as the fluorine decays."

"The cloud chamber demonstration was awesome. It was cool to visually see a half-life undergoing."
Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.
"The concept of stability has always been confusing to me, I know it seems simple with just certain numbers of protons and neutrons but i just get confused."

"Electron capture is a little fuzzy for me."

"I can't figure out what other particles are created when a proton turns into a neutron, and when a neutron turns into a proton."
Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"I am confused on why 83 is this magic number of instability and why atoms with more protons than that will be unstable" (Actually, nobody seems to know from first principles why this number is so special--but taken that 83+ protons cannot be possibly be stable in a nucleus, nuclear physicists (and yes, nuclear chemists as well) come up with models that are consistent with this real-world observation.)

"I was a little confused that there are so many types of decay." (Because there are so many ways a nucleus can be unstable (having the wrong number of protons and neutrons), and many ways a nucleus can best reach a more stable combination of protons and neutrons within it.)

"If found it confusing to understand how proton turn into neutron and vice versa. I understand that a neutron will decay into a proton but I don't understand how a proton turns into a neutron." (Protons don't really want to be changed into neutrons, but can be forced to do so if it is for the benefit of the making the nucleus more stable. On the other hand, isolated neutrons outside of a nucleus will eventually turn back into protons, as there is no need to keep being a neutron.)

20130428

Online reading assignment: radioactive decay rates

Physics 205B, spring semester 2013
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.

The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on radioactive decay rates.

Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe something you found interesting from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally interesting for you.
"Radioactive decay as a whole interests me. We spent a large portion of CHEM 201B on it so it will be interesting to see it from a physics perspective."

"I thought that is was super interesting the probability of a given single M&M™ being eaten in a given time interval was not 0.5 and I can't explain why. :-( It caught my attention and boggled me."

"It was interesting to read about the radiocarbon dating because it offers such important data to our past."

"How independent identical (but unstable) nuclides are of each other."

"I thought that it was interesting how we will not be able to use carbon-14 as a way to date things in the distant future because we burn so much fossil fuel."
Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.
"The difference between the half-life and exponential decay expressions was a little confusing to me."

"It will be confusing looking at it from physics instead of a chemistry perspective because I spent so long learning it for chemistry! There are a bunch of new terms for stuff!"

"Where the equations come from are confusing, and why there is a natural logarithm within the half-life equation is still confusing to me."

"I was confused by quantum mechanical tunneling explaining radioactive half-lives for alpha decay. I'm not sure what is meant by tunneling or how it occurs."

"It will be confusing looking at it from physics instead of a chemistry perspective because I spent so long learning it for chemistry! There are a bunch of new terms for stuff!"

"I have to wonder how this model applies to something like depleted uranium. Depleted uranium munitions are thought to be part of the cause of 'Gulf War Syndrome,' which affects veterans of the first Gulf War, and even civilians from Iraq and Afghanistan from the current Gulf War. Depleted uranium comes mainly from spent nuclear fuel, and is valued as a munition for being denser than even lead. Supposedly, DU is melted and cast into munitions. How will this affect its half life and effect on human exposure?"
What is the mathematical relationship between τ and half-life for radioactive decays?
"τ is the decay constant while the half-life is the probability of decay per the unit time."

"τ is double the half-life."

"T1/2 = τ·ln(2)."
Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"I liked the expression of using M&M™s to explain radioactive decay, but I didn't quite follow it. Everytime you toss them, some flip "m"-up and some "m"-down, but it is not necessarily even. The odds are sporadic and unpredictable. Radioactive decay is predictable, right?" (Only in the limit of a sufficiently large sample of unstable nuclei. If you were given only one unstable nucleus, knowing its half-life would only give you a probability of it decaying for the current time interval, regardless of how many time intervals it has survived up to present.)

"Can you go over why radioactive decay happens? Or what initiates it?" (That will be the top of the next presentation, but the short answer right now is that it has something to do with Jenga® and Ellen DeGeneres.)

"How hard is Midterm 2 compared to Midterm 1?" (About as difficult as quizzes 4-6 were to quizzes 1-3.)

"This is hard! There are only there weeks left in the semester!" (What?!? This is supposed to be the easy, fun stuff.)

20130427

Presentation: radioactive decay modes

Contrails in the sky, produced by airplanes passing through cold, water-saturated air. Airplanes pass overhead all the time, whether or not the sky just so happens to be cold and water-saturated. (Video link: "Chemtrail or Contrail bonanza time-lapse Amsterdam 2012.")

Contrails in a cloud chamber, produced by natural background radioactive decay particles passing through cold, alcohol-saturated air. Radioactive particles from natural background decays zing around all the time, whether or not the air just so happens to be cold and alcohol-saturated. (Video link: "large diffusion cloud chamber with radon gas double-decaying!.")

In this presentation we look into the causes of radioactive decays (compared to the previous presentation discussing the behavior of radioactive decays over time).

First, structure of atomic nuclei.

Each nucleus, whether stable or unstable, contains a set number of positively-charged protons and neutrally-charged neutrons. From chemistry, the specific element is denoted by its chemical symbol, and (somewhat redundantly) the atomic number of the element denotes the number of protons in the nucleus. The nucleon number denotes the total number of nucleons (protons and electrons), such that the number of neutrons is the difference between the nucleon number and atomic number.

Second, stability and instability of nuclei.

For all atomic nuclei, big and small, the key to stability is being able to keep the protons in the nucleus together, in spite of them all repelling each other. Having a certain number of neutrons in the nucleus will mitigate the proton-proton repulsion, and not just merely by spacing apart the protons.

A nucleus containing more than 83 protons will always be unstable, no matter how many neutrons there are, as there is just too much proton-proton repulsion.

For a nucleus with 83 or fewer protons, having too few neutrons than protons will be unstable. Also having too many neutrons than protons will also be unstable. But having the proper ratio of neutrons, approximately equal to or slightly greater than the number of protons, will make the nucleus stable.

The model of why neutrons are critical for keeping a nucleus stable is that there is a "strong force" that "sticks" nucleons together. This is an attractive, short-range contact force--think of velcro--that balances out the repulsive forces between the protons in a nucleus, and is a fundamentally different type of force than those covered in this course so far (gravitational forces, electromagnetic forces).

Related to the weirdness of the strong force is that a proton (which is intrinsically stable) can be transformed into a neutron, and vice versa (through processes we'll discuss later). Even more weird is that a neutron is intrinsically unstable--an isolated neutron outside of a nucleus has a half-life of 10.2 minutes, and will eventually decay back into a proton. Think of a stable nucleus as having protons continuously transforming into neutrons, and neutrons continuously transforming into protons, and as they are transforming back and forth into each other, the strong force "sticks" them together, balancing the repulsive force between protons. An unstable nucleus, then, also has protons transforming into neutrons and vice versa, but the wrong ratio of protons to neutrons does not optimize the amount of proton-neutron transformations--and thus strong force "stickiness"--that would balance the repulsive force between protons, such that the nucleus will eventually need to somehow undergo a process to reach a more stable configuration, whether by falling apart (fission), or ejecting small parts of itself, as in the modes of radioactive decay discussed below.

Third, the different processes that unstable nuclei can undergo to achieve more stable configurations, and applications of these different types of decays.

Alpha decay is how a nucleus with way too many protons achieves a more stable configuration. This is observed to happen by ejecting a blob containing two protons and two neutrons--thus, a helium nucleus--which reduces the number of protons in the nucleus, and this may occur a number of times as long as there are more than 83 protons in the nucleus.

Americium-241 (unstable americium with 241 nucleons: 95 protons and 146 neutrons) is used in a ionizing smoke detector, as it gives off alpha particles as it decays, and these positively charged particles are used to complete a circuit. Particles of smoke will also attract the alpha particles, and the presence of these in the vicinity of the detector will disrupt the flow of current in the detector, setting off an alarm.

Beta-minus decay is how a nucleus with too many more neutrons than protons achieves a more stable configuration. This is observed to happen by transforming a neutron into a proton (thus reducing the number of neutrons while increasing the number of protons). This transformation emits an electron--historically called a "beta particle" in the context of radioactivity--and a small, neutral particle called an antineutrino.

This is from my personal keychain.  Mrs. P-dog asks me if this why we don't have kids yet.  I tell Mrs. P-dog that when we do have children, they will have awesome mutant powers.
Helium-3 ("tritium," unstable helium with three nucleons: two protons and one neutron) is used in materials that glow in the dark without needing to be first exposed to sunlight. So instead of phosphorescent paint being conventionally excited by ultraviolet light, it is instead continuously excited day and night by the energetic electrons given off by the tritium as it undergoes beta-minus decay.

Beta-plus decay is how a nucleus with too few neutrons than protons achieves a more stable configuration. This is observed to happen by transforming a proton into a neutron (thus reducing the number of protons while increasing the number of neutrons). This transformation emits a positron--which is a positively charged antimatter "twin" of an electron--and again a small, neutral neutrino.

If you ever have a PET scan, think not just about drinking radioactive sugar water, but about antimatter and matter annihilating in your body!
Fluorine-18 (unstable fluorine with 18 nucleons: nine protons and nine neutrons) incorporated in sugar molecules is ingested by patients undergoing a positron emission tomography (PET) scan. The sugar molecule can be configured to be metabolized only in certain tissues, and will then give off positrons in these regions as the fluorine decaays. When an antimatter positron immediately runs into the first matter electron it encounters, this antimatter and matter pair will annihilate each other and give off two high energy photons that move off in directly opposing directions. By detecting and triangulating the specific regions in the body that keep emitting the pairs of photons from positron-electron annihilation, a three-dimensional metabolic map can be constructed.

(For the purposes of completing our discussion of beta decay, a third type is electron capture, where the nucleus will actually swallow an electron, in order to achieve a more stable configuration (and also emit a neutrino afterwards). Does this increase or decrease the number of nucleons in the nucleus? Does this increase or decrease the number of protons in the nucleus? Does this increase or decrease the number of neutrons in the nucleus? Is electron capture more similar to beta-minus decay or beta-plus decay?)

Gamma decay is how a nucleus achieves a more stable configuration, but not because it has too many protons, or the wrong ratio of protons to neutrons, which is what alpha and beta decays allow. After a stability-achieving alpha or beta decay, the nucleons in the nucleus may all still be too energetic, and can shed the excess energy in order to "calm down" by emitting a high-energy photon--historically called a "gamma ray" in the context of radioactivity.

There is an overlap between low-energy gamma ray photons and high-energy x-ray photons.  The distinction between them in this overlapping energy range is from their origin: a gamma ray photon, whether high or low energy, is emitted from an energetic nucleus, while an x ray photon, whether high or low energy, is emitted from quickly stopping a fast-moving electron.
Gamma rays are the most highly energetic type of photons, even more energetic an x-rays. This allows them to penetrate through thicknesses of metal that would be opaque to x-rays, allowing inspection of the interior of metal machine parts and shipping containers, as is done in mobile scanning unit.

So keep in mind that no matter what type of radioactive decay process occurs, a nucleus with an unstable configuration is merely seeking a more stable configuration. Just like Ellen DeGeneres. (Video link: "Best Game of Jenga Ever?")

20120513

Physics quiz question: decay(s) for decreasing neutron number

Physics 205B Quiz 7, spring semester 2012
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Cf. Giambattista/Richardson/Richardson, Physics, 2/e, Multiple-Choice Question 29.1

Which decay mode decreases the number of neutrons in a nucleus?
(A) α.
(B) β.
(C) β+.
(D) γ.
(E) (More than one of the above choices.)
(F) (None of the above choices.)

Correct answer (highlight to unhide): (E)

For α decay, a helium nucleus with two protons and two neutrons is emitted from the unstable nucleus; and for β+ decay, a neutron transforms into a proton (either by electron capture, or emitting a positron), which also reduces the number of neutrons in the nucleus.

Section 30882
Exam code: quiz07b3Ta
(A) : 3 students
(B) : 5 students
(C) : 0 students
(D) : 0 students
(E) : 17 students
(F) : 0 students

Success level: 68%
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.71