Band of Stability: Electron Capture & Positron Emission
21. Nuclear Chemistry
Band of Stability: Electron Capture & Positron Emission - Video Tutorials & Practice Problems
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concept
Band of Stability: Electron Capture
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2m
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In this video, we can say that either electron capture or positron emission happens for isotopes in the right corner of the neutron to proton plot. Here, we're going to say since either process is possible, predicting which one predominates is beyond the scope of this course, within this region, either one could happen, we're not gonna delve deeply into determining which one's gonna happen more so than another because there's so many isotopes and the possibilities are endless. So here, if we take a look, we have our neutron or proton plot, we have our bed or valley of stability. This green curve here to the right of it is what we're talking about where electron capture or positron emission can occur here. If we take a look, we have cesium 131 it undergoes electron capture so it absorbs an electron doing this creates our daughter product of xenon 131. Now, if we take a look here, we start out with cesium 131 again. But doing Positron E mission, we let go of a Positron as a product and look, we still create xenon 131. This just highlights the fact that although they're different processes, they both help to come to the same end result, we're transforming SUSI 131 to xenon 131. So the basic idea here is that these isotopes, when it comes to this region, they have an excess of protons, right. So they have too many protons. The end result is the same for both processes. We're trying to convert protons into neutrons to help us shift closer to the B or valley of stability. So if we took a look here, what are we doing? We're trying to increase our amount of neutrons, decrease our number of protons. And in that way, we move from the orange region into the green stable valley of stability. All right. So just remember when it comes to these two processes, they're basically trying to do the same thing, but in different ways.
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example
Band of Stability: Electron Capture & Positron Emission Example
Video duration:
48s
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Here it says provide the identity of the daughter nuclide created from the ca electron capture of strontium. 80. All right. So Strontium 8080 is its mass number. And if we look at the periodic table, strontium has an atomic number of 38 electron capture means it's absorbing an electron. And remember at the end, we need to have the same total mass number on both sides and the same total number of protons on both sides. Here, we have 80 plus zero is 80 38 minus one. Gives us 37. If we look on the periodic table, the element with an atomic number of 37 is ridin. So we're dealing with rubidium 80 which means that option, option C would be our correct answer.
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Problem
Problem
Provide the identity of the daughter nuclide created from the positron emission of strontium-80.
a) Yttrium-78
b) Radon-81
c) Zirconium-82
d) Rubidium-80
A
Yttrium-78
B
Radon-81
C
Zirconium-82
D
Rubidium-80
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