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Modern Physics

Quick questions on The nuclear atom explained: H2 Physics Modern Physics

7short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.

What is nuclide notation?
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A nuclide is a specific nuclear species, written:
What are isotopes?
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Isotopes of an element have the same proton number ZZ but different nucleon numbers AA, that is, the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. They are chemically identical but differ in mass and may differ in nuclear stability. Carbon-12 and carbon-14 are isotopes of carbon.
What are balancing nuclear equations?
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In any nuclear reaction or decay, two quantities are conserved:
What is not conserving charge?
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Both the top (nucleon) and bottom (proton) numbers must balance on each side of a nuclear equation.
What is q1?
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State the two key observations of the alpha-scattering experiment and what each shows. [2 marks]
What is q2?
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Write the nuclide notation for an isotope of oxygen with 88 protons and 1010 neutrons. [1 mark]
What is q3?
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A polonium-210 nucleus (84210Po^{210}_{84}\text{Po}) emits an alpha particle. Identify the daughter nucleus by its nucleon and proton numbers. [2 marks]

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