Elements,
Atoms, and
Their History
Nuclear Reactions and Origin
of Elements
Matter – Composed of
varying combinations of
any of the 118 elements
identified to be present in
the universe, including
ATOM
Introduction to Nuclear Reactions
• Nuclear Reactions – Are processes in
which a nucleus either combines with
another nucleus (nuclear fusion) or splits
into smaller nuclei (nuclear fission).
• Radioactivity – The emission of the
energetic particles of an atom.
• The radioactive particles may be elements,
electrons, protons, and neutrons among
others.
• Each particle involved in a reaction has a
superscript and a subscript at the left-hand
• The following are the most common types of nuclear
reactions
Alpha Decay: Loss of an alpha particle ()
Ex. Alpha decay of polonium-210 - +
Beta Decay: Loss of beta particle ()
Beta decay of carbon-14 - +
Gamma Radiation: Emission of gamma ray ()
Gamma radiation in alpha decay of uranium-238
- (alpha decay)
(gamma radiation)
• The following are the most common types of nuclear
reactions
Positron Emission: Conversion of a proton in a nucleus into a
neutron, along with the release of a positron
Positron emission of oxygen-15
Electron Capture: Drawing of an electron into an atom’s
nucleus
Electron capture of mercury-201
Bombardment of Alpha Particle: addition of alpha particle
Bombardment of beryllium with an alpha particle
• Other subatomic particles involved in nuclear reactions
are the proton () and the neutron ().
Cosmic Origin of Elements
1. The Big Bang
The existence of all matter is believed to have started with
the birth of the universe.
Edwin Hubble – Offered an explanation that the universe is
expanding.
Redshift – Occurs because the light waves of cosmic bodies
are stretched into low-frequency red waves as they move
away from an observer on Earth.
Hubble”s Law – Suggests that the size of the redshift is
proportional to the distance and speed of a star that is moving
away from Earth.
Big Bang Theory – Postulates that approximately 14 billion
years ago, a hot, dense mass about 1 cm in diameter
experienced a huge explosion, spreading its product as a fast-
moving cloud of gas.
Cosmic Origin of Elements
2. Stellar Formation and Evolution
The universe expanded for several years and
the cloud of hydrogen and helium gases
condensed to form stars, including the sun.
Nuclear reactions continued, which produced
elements heavier than lithium.
Starting from a small, young, yellow star,
successive nuclear reactions occurred until it
become a giant red star.
Fusion shells – Regions or layers where the
reactions involved in the formation of each new
element happened.
Cosmic Origin of Elements
2. Stellar Formation and Evolution
Cosmic Origin of Elements
3. Stellar Explosion
Supernova – The violent explosion that
released a huge amount of nuclear energy and
produced other elements heavier than iron.
Structure of an Atom
• Atom
The tiniest particle of an element that retain
the chemical properties of that element.
Came from the Greek word atomos, which
means “indivisible” or “uncuttable.”
All atoms are made up of the nucleus and
electrons.
Nucleus
Center of an atom
Composed of protons and neutrons or
nucleons.
Protons and Neutrons
• Protons
Discovered by Ernest Rutherford using his gold foil
experiment.
Ernest Rutherford
Used a gold foil in measuring the scattering of
alpha particles.
Discover the nucleus and protons.
• Neutrons
James Chadwick
Proved the presence of neutral subatomic particles, which
he named neutrons.
He concluded that the radiation consisted of neutral
particles that are slightly heavier than protons, and that
these particles are found in the nucleus, together with the
protons.
• Electrons
The equal number of protons and electrons make an atom electrically
neutral and stable.
Electron was discovered by Joseph John Thomson in 1897 when he
was studying the properties of cathode ray.
Presented that electrons have negative charge.
He proposed the plum pudding model of an atom, which illustrated
how the negatively charged electrons (plums) are mixed with
smeared out positive charges (pudding).
Atomic Number and Atomic Mass
• Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley
Experimentally found that different metals bombarded with
electrons produced varying frequencies of X-rays.
He correlated the frequencies to whole numbers, which he
assigned to each element – the atomic numbers.
Atomic Number
Serves as the identity of an atom.
Refers to the number of protons in the nucleus of each
atom of an element.
In a neutral atom, the number of protons is equal to the
number of electrons.
Atomic mass
The total number of neutrons and protons present in the
nucleus of an element
• Isotopes
Atoms that have the same atomic
number but different atomic masses.
• Ions
Chemical Reactions – Reactions that involve only
the electrons that ae found outside the nucleus.
The loss or gain of one or more electrons leads to
the formation of an atom with a net positive or
negative charge.
Cation – A positively charged ion
Anion – A negatively charged ion.
A charge (q) of an ion is written as a superscript at
the right-hand side of the chemical symbol.
The charge of an ion may be computed using the
formula
Examples:
Substance Symb Z A No. of No. of No. of
ol Neutr Proton Electr
ons s ons
Potassi Neutr 19 39 20 19 19
um al
Cation 19 39 20 19 18
Chlorin Neutr 17 35 18 17 17
e al
Anion 17 35 18 17 18