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Chapter 21: Problem 28

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 when he bombarded a molybdenum target with deuterium ions is Technetium. The nuclear equation representing this process is: \(^{96}_{42} Mo + ^{2}_{1}D \rightarrow ^{98}_{43}Tc\).

Step by step solution

01

Identify the reactants

In this nuclear reaction, we have two reactants: - Molybdenum-96 (\(^{96}_{42} Mo\)) - Deuterium (\(^{2}_{1}D\ or\ ^{2}_{1}H\)) Step 2: Determine the deuterium ion
02

Determine the deuterium ion

Since deuterium has one proton and one neutron, its atomic number is 1, and its mass number is 2. Recall that a deuterium ion is a deuterium atom that has lost its electron and therefore has a +1 charge. However, when writing nuclear equations, we don't need to consider the charges. Step 3: Determine the initial element
03

Determine the initial element

This exercise states that we start with molybdenum-96 as the reactant. Molybdenum has an atomic number of 42 and a mass number of 96, so it is represented as \(^{96}_{42} Mo\). Step 4: Write the nuclear reaction formula
04

Write the nuclear reaction formula

A nuclear reaction involves changes in the nucleus of an atom. When molybdenum-96 is bombarded with deuterium, a new element is formed. In this case, we don't know the identity of the new element, so we can represent it using X. To balance the equation, we need to find the atomic and mass numbers of X: Atomic number (protons) = 42 (from \(^{96}_{42} Mo\)) + 1 (from \(^{2}_{1}D\ or\ ^{2}_{1}H\)) = 43 Mass number (protons + neutrons) = 96 (from \(^{96}_{42} Mo\)) + 2 (from \(^{2}_{1}D\ or\ ^{2}_{1}H\)) = 98 The nuclear equation for this process is: \(^{96}_{42} Mo + ^{2}_{1}D \rightarrow ^{98}_{43}X\) Step 5: Identify the new element
05

Identify the new element

The balanced nuclear equation gives us a new element with atomic number 43, and mass number 98. By looking at a periodic table, we can find that element 43 is Technetium (Tc). So, the nuclear equation representing this process is: \(^{96}_{42} Mo + ^{2}_{1}D \rightarrow ^{98}_{43}Tc\) The element produced by Ernest Lawrence when he bombarded a molybdenum target with deuterium ions, for the first time, is Technetium.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

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