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Chapter 21: Problem 26

In 1930 the American physicist Ernest Lawrence designed the first cyclotron in Berkeley, California. In 1937 Lawrence bombarded a molybdenum target with deuterium ions, producing for the first time an element not found in nature. What was this element? Starting with molybdenum-96 as your reactant, write a nuclear equation to represent this process.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The element produced by Ernest Lawrence in 1937 when bombarding a molybdenum target with deuterium ions was technetium-98. The nuclear equation representing this process is: \[_{42}^{96}\textrm{Mo} + _1^2\textrm{H} \rightarrow _{43}^{98}\textrm{Tc}\]

Step by step solution

01

Gather information about molybdenum and deuterium atoms

Molybdenum (Mo) is a chemical element with atomic number 42, and deuterium is a stable isotope of hydrogen with one proton and one neutron. It is often represented as \(_1^2\)H or D. In this process, we start with molybdenum-96, which has an atomic number of 42 and a mass number of 96.
02

Determine the element produced

In this process, a molybdenum-96 nucleus is bombarded by a deuterium atom, effectively adding a proton and a neutron to the molybdenum nucleus. This produces an element with an atomic number of 42 + 1 = 43 and a mass number of 96 + 2 = 98. The element with an atomic number of 43 is technetium (Tc). Thus, the element produced in this reaction is technetium-98.
03

Write the nuclear equation

Now that we know the reactants and products, we can write the nuclear equation representing this process. The equation would be: \[_{42}^{96}\textrm{Mo} + _1^2\textrm{H} \rightarrow _{43}^{98}\textrm{Tc}\] This equation indicates that a molybdenum-96 nucleus, when bombarded by a deuterium atom, produces a technetium-98 nucleus.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

A sample of an alpha emitter having an activity of \(0.18 \mathrm{i}\) is stored in a \(25.0-\mathrm{mL}\) sealed container at \(22^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) for 245 days. (a) How many alpha particles are formed during this time? (b) Assuming that each alpha particle is converted to a helium atom, what is the partial pressure of helium gas in the container after this 245 -day period?

A laboratory rat is exposed to an alpha-radiation source whose activity is \(14.3 \mathrm{mCi}\). (a) What is the activity of the radiation in disintegrations per second? In becquerels? (b) The rat has a mass of \(385 \mathrm{~g}\) and is exposed to the radiation for \(14.0 \mathrm{~s}\), absorbing \(35 \%\) of the emitted alpha particles, each having an energy of \(9.12 \times 10^{-13} \mathrm{~J} .\) Calculate the absorbed dose in millirads and grays. (c) If the RBE of the radiation is 9.5, calculate the effective absorbed dose in mrem and Sv.

Hydroxyl radicals can pluck hydrogen atoms from molecules ("hydrogen abstraction"), and hydroxide ions can pluck protons from molecules ("deprotonation"). Write the reaction equations and Lewis dot structures for the hydrogen abstraction and deprotonation reactions for the generic carboxylic acid \(\mathrm{R}-\mathrm{COOH}\) with hydroxyl radical and hydroxide ion, respectively. Why is hydroxyl radical more toxic to living systems than hydroxide ion?

Write balanced nuclear equations for the following transformations: (a) bismuth- 213 undergoes alpha decay; (b) nitrogen-13 undergoes electron capture; (c) technicium-98 undergoes electron capture; (d) gold-188 decays by positron emission.

It takes 5.2 min for a 1.000 -g sample of \({ }^{210} \mathrm{Fr}\) to decay to \(0.250 \mathrm{~g}\). What is the half-life of \({ }^{210} \mathrm{Fr}\) ?
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