Chapter Six: Completing the Table…with a Bang
1. What is the difference between a “dirty” bomb and a conventional nuclear bomb? (1 mark)
The difference between a “dirty” bomb and a conventional nuclear bomb is that a nuclear bomb is designed to destroy organisms using heat and impact, while a dirty bomb is designed to kill with gamma radiation. Radiation from dirty bombs, besides burning through skin, also alters the DNA in bone marrows, which significantly weakens the body’s immune system, and turns some cells into cancer cells. Though nuclear bombs also emit some radiation, it is not intentional that that occurs.
2. Summarize the life and work of Henry Moseley. (3 marks)
Throughout his life, Henry Moseley was buried in his studies, spending most of his time in the laboratory. With Darwin’s grandson, he researched how atoms behaved when they were struck by a beam of electrons. Moseley noticed that an X-ray wave was released by an atom when a beam of electrons was shot. This occurred because the ray of electrons was able to remove some of the electrons from the atom itself, which means that other electrons from the atom rushed to fill the gap. This caused collisions, which was able to produce an X-ray wave. Using his observations, Moseley was able to conclude that there was a relationship between the number of protons, the wavelength of the X-ray, and the atomic number. Before this, atomic numbers were used without any particular meaning, just to represent the order of elements on the periodic table. Now, because of Moseley, people understand that the atomic number corresponds to the number of protons in the nucleus. Moseley was also able to discover four elements for the periodic table, including element 43, 61, 72, and 75. However, when WWI began, Moseley decided to enlist as a soldier, and sacrificed his life during action. 3. What are two ways uranium and plutonium are similar? What are two ways they are different? (2 marks) Uranium and plutonium are similar in that they are both naturally occurring rare earth elements (“What is the difference between plutonium and uranium,” 2016), and are both used to produce nuclear weapons. Uranium and plutonium are different in that Uranium can still be mined, but plutonium has decayed completely (“What is the difference between plutonium and uranium,” 2016); and that Uranium and Plutonium have different numbers of protons within their nuclei, Uranium has 92 protons, while plutonium has 94 protons. 4. Describe the story behind the discovery of element 61. (1 mark) Element 61 was not a popular target for scientists to research. In fact, only several institutions were trying to find the element before it was discovered. An Italian team led by Emilio Segrè perhaps created the element as early as 1942, but gave up after failing to isolate it. Seven years later, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee found element 61 within a sample of uranium, and named it promethium. 5. Explain the three types of radioactivity. (3 marks) The three types of radioactivity are alpha decay, beta decay, and gamma decay. Alpha decay is producing energy by removing two protons …show more content…
Why didn't scientists at the University of California at Berkley call element 97 and 98, Universitium and Ofium, respectively? (1 mark)
Scientists at the University of California at Berkeley did not call elements 97 and 98 as ‘Universitium’ and ‘Ofium’ because they were worried that New Yorkers might name the next two ‘newium’ and ‘yorkium’, making the phrase “University of New York” rather than “University of California at Berkeley”.
4. Explain how some Russians think the wealth of minerals got to Russia. (1 mark)
Some Russians believe the myth that god made a mistake when assigning different minerals to different areas. They believe that god must have had a variety of elements with him when he visited the Earth, and decided to put Tantalum in one area, and uranium in another area. However, when he reached Siberia, his hands were too cold, which made him drop all of the elements. Then, God left Siberia without picking up the elements, as his fingers were too frozen to move. The Russians believe that the act of God dropping elements in Siberia is the reason for the wealth of minerals in
1. What is the difference between a “dirty” bomb and a conventional nuclear bomb? (1 mark)
The difference between a “dirty” bomb and a conventional nuclear bomb is that a nuclear bomb is designed to destroy organisms using heat and impact, while a dirty bomb is designed to kill with gamma radiation. Radiation from dirty bombs, besides burning through skin, also alters the DNA in bone marrows, which significantly weakens the body’s immune system, and turns some cells into cancer cells. Though nuclear bombs also emit some radiation, it is not intentional that that occurs.
2. Summarize the life and work of Henry Moseley. (3 marks)
Throughout his life, Henry Moseley was buried in his studies, spending most of his time in the laboratory. With Darwin’s grandson, he researched how atoms behaved when they were struck by a beam of electrons. Moseley noticed that an X-ray wave was released by an atom when a beam of electrons was shot. This occurred because the ray of electrons was able to remove some of the electrons from the atom itself, which means that other electrons from the atom rushed to fill the gap. This caused collisions, which was able to produce an X-ray wave. Using his observations, Moseley was able to conclude that there was a relationship between the number of protons, the wavelength of the X-ray, and the atomic number. Before this, atomic numbers were used without any particular meaning, just to represent the order of elements on the periodic table. Now, because of Moseley, people understand that the atomic number corresponds to the number of protons in the nucleus. Moseley was also able to discover four elements for the periodic table, including element 43, 61, 72, and 75. However, when WWI began, Moseley decided to enlist as a soldier, and sacrificed his life during action. 3. What are two ways uranium and plutonium are similar? What are two ways they are different? (2 marks) Uranium and plutonium are similar in that they are both naturally occurring rare earth elements (“What is the difference between plutonium and uranium,” 2016), and are both used to produce nuclear weapons. Uranium and plutonium are different in that Uranium can still be mined, but plutonium has decayed completely (“What is the difference between plutonium and uranium,” 2016); and that Uranium and Plutonium have different numbers of protons within their nuclei, Uranium has 92 protons, while plutonium has 94 protons. 4. Describe the story behind the discovery of element 61. (1 mark) Element 61 was not a popular target for scientists to research. In fact, only several institutions were trying to find the element before it was discovered. An Italian team led by Emilio Segrè perhaps created the element as early as 1942, but gave up after failing to isolate it. Seven years later, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee found element 61 within a sample of uranium, and named it promethium. 5. Explain the three types of radioactivity. (3 marks) The three types of radioactivity are alpha decay, beta decay, and gamma decay. Alpha decay is producing energy by removing two protons …show more content…
Why didn't scientists at the University of California at Berkley call element 97 and 98, Universitium and Ofium, respectively? (1 mark)
Scientists at the University of California at Berkeley did not call elements 97 and 98 as ‘Universitium’ and ‘Ofium’ because they were worried that New Yorkers might name the next two ‘newium’ and ‘yorkium’, making the phrase “University of New York” rather than “University of California at Berkeley”.
4. Explain how some Russians think the wealth of minerals got to Russia. (1 mark)
Some Russians believe the myth that god made a mistake when assigning different minerals to different areas. They believe that god must have had a variety of elements with him when he visited the Earth, and decided to put Tantalum in one area, and uranium in another area. However, when he reached Siberia, his hands were too cold, which made him drop all of the elements. Then, God left Siberia without picking up the elements, as his fingers were too frozen to move. The Russians believe that the act of God dropping elements in Siberia is the reason for the wealth of minerals in