Ch 32: Nuclear Reactions in Chemistry
About This Chapter
Nuclear Reactions in Chemistry - Chapter Summary
Check out this online science chapter to improve your understanding of nuclear reactions in chemistry. Through a series of engaging and informative lessons, you'll review the fundamentals of concepts like radioactive decay, carbon dating, radiation, half-life and the products of nuclear reactions. Each lesson comes with a short quiz to help you reinforce your understanding of these nuclear chemistry terms. If you have any questions about the material, just use the chapter's Ask the Expert feature. When you're finished with the lessons and quizzes, you should be able to:
- Evaluate examples of nuclear energy
- Compare types of radioactive decay
- Balance nuclear equations
- Predict nuclear reaction products
- Explain the applications of nuclear chemistry
- Discuss carbon dating, radiometric dating and half-life
- Recognize the causes and effects of radiation
- Tell how radioactive isotopes can track biological molecules
- Identify background radiation causes
- Assess safety and health concerns regarding nuclear power plants and radioactive waste
1. What is Nuclear Energy? - Definition & Examples
You've probably heard of nuclear energy. But what is it? And what is the difference between fusion and fission? This lesson will answer your questions about this exciting form of energy that involves atoms and their nuclei.
2. What is Carbon Dating? - Definition & Overview
Ever wondered how scientists know the age of old bones in an ancient site or how old a scrap of linen is? The technique used is called carbon dating, and in this lesson we will learn what this is and how it is used. A quiz will test how much we have learned.
3. Radiometric Dating: Methods, Uses & the Significance of Half-Life
Radiometric dating is used to estimate the age of rocks and other objects based on the fixed decay rate of radioactive isotopes. Learn about half-life and how it is used in different dating methods, such as uranium-lead dating and radiocarbon dating, in this video lesson.
4. What is Radiation? - Definition, Causes & Effects
Learn about the reality and pervasiveness of radiation in our world. Discover some of the causes of radiation, and find out about the risks and rewards of harnessing it for our use.
5. How Radioactive Isotopes Track Biological Molecules
Radioactive isotopes can be used to track atoms and label biological molecules. This lesson explores how this can be applied to microbiology to learn more about the way a cell works.
6. Background Radiation: Definition, Causes & Examples
This lesson will define background radiation, explain how it is measured, discuss some of the sources and examples of background radiation, and briefly consider the risk to humans. A short quiz will follow.
7. Risks of Nuclear Power Plants and Radioactive Waste: Safety and Health Concerns
Nuclear power can generate electricity without greenhouse gas emissions. However, there are concerns about its safety. Learn about the safety and health concerns associated with the threat of nuclear meltdowns, as well as the challenges involved in storing radioactive waste.
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Other Chapters
Other chapters within the High School Chemistry: Help and Review course
- Introduction to Chemistry: Help and Review
- Measurement and Problem Solving: Help and Review
- Experimental Laboratory Chemistry: Help and Review
- What Is Matter? - Help and Review
- Understanding Atomic Structure: Help and Review
- The Periodic Table of Elements: Help and Review
- The Representative Elements of the Periodic Table: Help and Review
- Nuclear Chemistry & Radioactive Decay: Help and Review
- Bonding: Help and Review
- Phase Changes for Liquids and Solids: Help and Review
- Gases in Chemistry: Help and Review
- Solutions in Chemistry: Help and Review
- Stoichiometry and Chemical Equations: Help and Review
- Acids, Bases, and Reactions: Help and Review
- Equilibrium in Chemistry: Help and Review
- Chemistry Kinetics: Help and Review
- Thermodynamics in Chemistry: Help and Review
- Organic Chemistry Basics: Help and Review
- Chemistry of DNA and RNA: Help and Review
- Chemistry of DNA Replication: Help and Review
- Overview of Chemistry & Matter
- Intro to Scientific Measurement
- Basics of Atoms, Elements & the Periodic Table
- Building Chemical Compounds
- Mass Relationships for Molecules & Compounds
- Chemical Reactions & Quantities
- Chemical Reactions in Solutions
- Properties of Aqueous Solutions
- Energy & Thermochemistry
- Electronic Structure of Atoms
- Intro to Chemical Bonding
- Intermolecular Forces, Liquids & Solids
- Physical Properties of Solutions
- Chemical Reactions, Rate Laws & Constants
- Principles of Chemical Equilibrium
- Acids, Bases, Water & Salts
- Solubility Equilibria
- Spontaneity of Reactions
- Electrochemistry, Voltaic Cells & Thermodynamics
