Write the balanced nuclear equation for the production of the following transuranium elements: (a) berkelium-244, made by the reaction of Am-241 and He-4 (b) fermium- 254 , made by the reaction of \(\mathrm{Pu}-239\) with a large number of neutrons (c) lawrencium-257, made by the reaction of Cf-250 and B-11 (d) dubnium-260, made by the reaction of Cf-249 and N-15

Transuranium elements are the chemical elements with atomic numbers greater than that of uranium (92). These synthetic elements are not typically found in nature but are created in nuclear reactors or particle accelerators through nuclear reactions involving uranium or other heavy elements. For example, berkelium (Bk) with the atomic number 97, fermium (Fm) with 100, lawrencium (Lr) with 103, and dubnium (Db) with 105 are all transuranium elements. They are often named after scientists or places associated with their discovery.

When creating these elements, a precise combination of target nuclei and projectiles is required. In the case of berkelium-244, an americium-241 nucleus is bombarded with helium-4 nuclei (also known as alpha particles). The transuranium elements have potential applications in scientific research, medicine, and industry, but they also pose challenges due to their radioactivity and short half-lives, making them difficult to handle and study.

Balanced nuclear equations are essential in understanding nuclear reactions. They ensure that both mass and atomic numbers are conserved during the transformation. Balancing nuclear reactions involves accounting for the total number of protons and neutrons, just like balancing chemical equations involves balancing atoms of each element. However, instead of molecules and compounds, we deal with isotopes and elementary particles such as neutrons (n), protons (p), and alpha particles (He-4).

In the balanced equations for the production of transuranium elements, alpha particles, neutrons, and other nuclei are used to add mass and protons to the target nuclei. For example, in the reaction to create fermium-254 from plutonium-239, the large number of neutrons that bombard the plutonium must be accounted for, along with the neutrons that are emitted. Balancing these equations requires a careful understanding of how these reactions proceed and the changes in atom counts and mass.

Nuclide symbols provide a shorthand method to represent isotopes of elements in nuclear equations. A nuclide symbol consists of the element symbol, a hyphen, and the mass number (the total number of protons and neutrons). For example, helium-4 is represented as He-4, where 'He' is the element symbol for helium, and '4' indicates the mass number.

The nuclide symbol also often includes the atomic number as a subscript before the element symbol. For instance, carbon-14 is presented as ¹⁴C, and uranium-238 as ²³⁸U. Knowing how to read and write nuclide symbols is critical for interpreting and balancing nuclear equations because these symbols contain all the essential information about the components involved in the reaction. Whether you are examining the production of a transuranium element or studying radioactive decay processes, the correct use of nuclide symbols is fundamental.