ChemStd 11d: Halogens: Alpha, Beta, Gamma

ChemStd 11d(Halogens): Students know the three most common forms of radioactive decay (alpha, beta, and gamma) and know how the nucleus changes in each type of decay.

There are three types of radioactive decays:

• Alpha
• Beta
• Gamma

Radiation is energy traveling in the form of particles or waves in bundles of energy called photons. Some everyday examples are microwaves used to cook food, radio waves for radio and television, light, and x-rays used in medicine.

Alpha Decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle.

After the alpha decay, the nucleus changes to a mass number 4 less and atomic number 2 less.


4 He
2



Beta Decay is a type of radioactive decay in which a beta particle (an electron or a positron) is emitted.

After beta decay, the nucleus has the same mass, but have a atomic number of 1 more.

0 E

-1



Gamma decay is when a nucleus in an excited energy state decays to a lower-energy state by emitting a high-energy photon. The photons produced in this decay are known as gamma rays.

After gamma decay, the nucleus's mass and atomic number stay the same.

0 y

0