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Atomic Structure Vocabulary

Terms in this set (19)

Artificial transmutation
Changing one element into another by bombarding it with particle bullets in a particle accelerator.
Atomic number
The number that identifies an element, equal to an atom's number of protons.
Atomic Mass Unit (amu)
1/12 the mass of a C-12 atom, the approximate mass of protons and neutrons.
Deflect
Change in direction due to an outside force.
Emit
To give off something.
Half-life
The time it takes for half the mass of a sample of radioactive isotope to undergo decay. The period of time in which any given nucleus has a 50% chance of undergoing radioactive decay.
Isotope
Atoms of the same element that contain different numbers of neutrons and therefore differ in atomic mass as well.
Mass defect
The mass that was lost during a nuclear change that was converted into energy via E=mc2.
Mass number
The sum total of the protons and neutrons in an atom.
Natural radioactivity
(Radioactive Decay)
The spontaneous breakdown of an unstable nucleus into a more stable nucleus and a decay particle (alpha, beta-negative, beta-positive
or gamma).
Neutron
The particle that has no charge and has a mass of 1 a.m.u.
Nuclear charge
The net positive charge of the nucleus, equal to the number of protons in the nucleus.
Nuclear fission
The process whereby a large nucleus is split by artificial transmutation into smaller nuclei with the release of a large amount of energy derived from the conversion of a tiny bit of mass into energy.
Nuclear fusion
The process whereby two small nuclei are combined to form one larger nucleus with release of a huge amount of energy derived from the conversion of a tiny bit of mass into energy.
Nucleon
A particle that exists in the nucleus (protons and neutrons.)
Nucleus
The central core of the atom, consists of protons and neutrons and has a net positive charge.
Particle accelerator
A device that uses electromagnetic fields to accelerate charged particles.
Proton
A particle that represents a unit charge of +1 and a mass of 1 a.m.u.
Weight-Average Mass
The average mass of a sample of element that is determined by the mass and abundance of every isotope of that element.
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