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“Atoms are not forever — inside stars and reactors, their hearts change, creating new matter and releasing immense energy.”
🎯 Learning Objectives
🎯 Learning Objectives
Cognitive: Describe nuclear reactions (fusion, fission, and decay) and how they change atomic nuclei.
Affective: Recognize the importance of nuclear processes in both natural and human-made systems.
Psychomotor: Write and interpret basic nuclear equations and identify types of radioactive decay.
🧬 1️⃣ Nuclear Notation and Isotopic Representation
🧬 1️⃣ Nuclear Notation and Isotopic Representation
“Before understanding how nuclei change, you must know how to read what’s changing.”
Structure of Nuclear Notation:
⚛️ 2️⃣ Types of Nuclear Reactions
🧠 Fusion → combining; Fission → splitting; Decay → releasing.
💥 3️⃣ Radioactive Decay and Stability of Nuclei
💥 3️⃣ Radioactive Decay and Stability of Nuclei
🔸 Alpha Decay (α)
Emits an alpha particle (²₄He)
Reduces atomic number by 2 and mass by 4
Example:
🔸 Beta Decay (β⁻)
Neutron → proton + electron + antineutrino
Increases atomic number by 1
Example:
🔸 Gamma Decay (γ)
Nucleus releases energy without changing Z or A
Example:
💬 Radioactive elements decay until they reach a stable state.
⚙️ 4️⃣ Energy and Applications of Nuclear Reactions
💡 Understanding nuclear reactions sets the foundation for studying nucleosynthesis in the next lesson.
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