(13)NUCLEI (cbdhavale@god.

com) PU2

Syllabus : Chapter 13: NUCLEI (7 hours)

Definition of atomic mass unit (amu OR u) - Isotopes, isobars and isotones - Composition,
size, mass and density of the nucleus - Einstein’s mass energy relation - Nuclear binding
energy: Brief explanation of mass defect and binding energy - Binding energy per nucleon
-Binding energy curve - Nuclear force and its characteristics. Nuclear fission and nuclear
fusion with examples.
Radioactivity: Law of radioactive decay - Derivation of . Activity (decay rate)
and its units - Becquerel and Curie - Definition and derivation of half-life of radioactive
element - Definition of mean life and mention its expression. Alpha decay, beta decay
(negative and positive) and gamma decay with examples -Q value of nuclear reaction,
Numerical Problems.
_______________________________________________________________________

Nuclear physics is the branch of physics which deals with the study of nucleus & its
properties.
Almost 99.9% of the mass of the atom is concentrated at the centre of the atom
called nucleus. In the nucleus positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons
are present. Protons and neutrons are collectively called nucleons.
Size of the nucleus : The radius of the nucleus is called nuclear size. It is of the order of

The radius of various elements is determined by performing fast electron scattering

experiments instead of alpha particles.
It has been found that the radius R of the nucleus of mass no A is

Where , is the constant.

Thus volume of the nucleus is proportional to or proportional to A.
Nuclear mass : Mass of the nucleus is the sum of the masses of all the protons & neutrons
of that nucleus.
.i.e
Where mass of proton is, . and mass of
neutron .
Nuclear density : Density of the nucleus is the ratio of mass of the nucleus to the volume
of the nucleus. The density of the nucleus is independent of the size of the nucleus and it
is of the order of .
Types of elements:
Isotopes : The elements having different mass numbers but same atomic number are
called isotopes. For ex. are the isotope of carbon nucleus .
Isobars: The elements having different atomic numbers but same mass number are called
isotopes. For ex. are the isobars of nitrogen & oxygen nuclei.

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Isotones: The nuclei which have same number of neutrons but different atomic numbers
are called isotones. For ex.
Discovery of neutron : Since masses of are in the ratio 1:2:3 but
charges are in the ratio of 1:1:1 (.i.e equal),it was concluded that the excess mass in
must be neutron. Further Chadwick observed that when Beryllium was bombarded
with particles, neutral particles were found to be emitted which were called neutrons.
A free neutron, unlike a free proton, is unstable. It decays into a proton, an
electron and a antineutrino (another elementary particle), and has a mean life of about
1000s. It is, however, stable inside the nucleus. The composition of a nucleus can now be
described using the following terms and symbols for the element :
Z - atomic number = number of protons.
N - neutron number = A-Z = number of neutrons.
A - mass number = Z + N total number of protons and neutrons.
Qn. Define atomic mass unit, find its equivalent energy in MeV.
Ans. Amu:- One atomic mass unit(amu) is defined as the of the mass of atom.

.i.e 1amu (1u)

.
Thus mass of proton is, . and mass of neutron .
Qn. Write a note on Einstein’s mass energy relation and mention where it is verified?
Ans. Earlier law of conservation of mass and law of conservation of energy were treated
as different. But Einstein said that mass & energy are inter convertible and they are
conserved together.
According to Einstein the energy equivalent to a mass is given by,

Where is speed of light in vacuum.

Experimentally the Einstein’s relation is verified in
1. Nuclear reaction.
2. Pair production.
3. Annihilation of matter.
4. Binding energy.

Qn. Define the following

1. Mass defect.
2. Binding energy (BE) and
3. Specific binding energy (OR binding energy per nucleon).
Ans. Mass defect( ) : It is the difference between the sum of masses of all the
nucleons and the actual nuclear mass M.
.i.e. mass defect { }
This mass defect is converted into binding energy to keep the nucleus bound within the
nucleus.

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Binding energy (BE): It is the energy required to break the nucleus completely into its
constituents (nucleons) separately.
Specific binding energy or (BE per nucleon) :It is the energy required to remove a single
nucleon (proton or neutron) from the nucleus.

Qn. Write a note on binding energy curve (specific BE curve).

Ans.

BE curve is the graph

plotted by taking BE per
nucleon along Y- axis
and mass number along
X-axis.
The BE curve increases
sharply in the lower
mass no. region,
reaches the maximum
value of 8.8 MeV for
and reaches a
minimum value of
7.6MeV for .

The characteristics of the BE curve are as follows.

1. The BE per nucleon is low for nuclei of lower mass number & the curve increases
sharply in the lower mass no. region.
2. In the region of mass number less than 20 the curve shows characteristic maxima
and minima. The nuclei such as He4,Be8 having equal and even no. of proton &
neutron show maxima . The nuclei such as Li6,B10 having equal but odd number of
proton & neutron show minima.
3. The BE per nucleon is almost constant and more in the range of , i.e
the mass no. between 30 & 170..i.e these nuclei are stable. The BE per nucleon is
highest for Fe56,.i.e SBE = 8.8MeV.
4. After the mass number of 170 the BE per nucleon gradually decreases and attains
a value of 7.6 MeV for U238 and hence these nuclei are less stable and more
radioactive. The decrease in BE exist because the addition of extra nucleons will not
add to the BE per nucleon.
5. The study of BE curve gives an idea of nuclear fission (breaking of heavy nucleus)
and nuclear fusion (combining two lighter nuclei) and the manner in which the nuclear
energy can be obtained.

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Qn. Write a note on nuclear forces.
Ans. The forces with which the nucleons ( protons and neutrons) are bound together in the
nucleus are called nuclear forces.
Characteristics of the nuclear forces:
1. They are the strongest forces in nature.
2. They are non gravitational forces. .i.e they do not depend on the masses of the
nucleons.
3. They are charge independent forces.i.e the force between p-p,n-p,n-n is same.
4. They are exchange forces. i.e they exchange the particle meson to create nuclear
force.
5. They are non central forces.i.e the nuclear force doesn’t act along the line joining
the center.
6. They are spin dependent forces. The nuclear force is more for the nucleons with
parallel spin and it is less for anti parallel spin.
7. Nuclear forces are short range forces. .i.e they interact with limited number of
nucleons. Nuclear forces will become repulsive if the distance between the nucleons
is less than 0.5 fm. The nuclear force is strongest for the distance of 0.8 fm. For
all practical purposes the nuclear force vanishes beyond 10 fm.

RADIOACTIVITY
It is the phenomenon in which heavy nuclei disintegrate spontaneously due to emission
of certain radiations such as .
The radioactivity that occurs in heavy elements is called natural radioactivity.

Qn. State law of radioactive decay OR radioactive decay law OR radioactive

disintegration law. And hence show that, .
Ans.
Statement : “ The rate of radioactive decay of a sample is directly proportional to the
number of nuclei present in the sample at that instant of time.“
Proof: Let a radioactive sample contain number of nuclei at time .
Let N be the no. of nuclei present at any instant of time .Let no. of nuclei
decay in time sec. Then according to radioactive decay law,

Taking the limit as and taking proportionality constant in the equation we get,

Here is called decay constant or disintegration constant and -ve sign indicates that the
no. of nuclei decreases with time.
Rearranging the terms and integrating we get ,

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 ∫ ∫

.i.e , [ ]
But when , thus (2) becomes,

--(3)
This is the required result.

Note : 1. The number of nuclei left after half lives is ,

⁄
Where
2. If is initial mass of the radioactive sample and is the sample after
then
Qn. Define activity, mention its expression and hence its SI unit (becquerel). Also define
other units of activity such as Curie and Rutherford.
Ans. Activity : It is defined as the number of radioactive disintegrations per second.
. i.e activity | |
.i.e
SI unit of activity is Becquerel.
Defn. Becquerel : Activity of a radioactive sample is said to be one Becquerel if one
disintegration takes place in one sec.
Thus 1Bq = 1disintegration/sec.
Curie (ci) : Activity of a radioactive sample is said to be one curie if
disintegration take place in one sec.
Thus 1curie = disintegration/sec.
Rutherford : Activity of a radioactive sample is said to be one Rutherford if
disintegration take place in one sec.
Thus 1Rutherford = disintegration/sec.
Further 1ci= becquerel.
Qn. Define decay constant by arriving at its relation. (3)
Ans. Decay constant of a radioactive sample is defined as the reciprocal of the time
during which the number of nuclei reduces to 37% of the initial value.
Let the time then the eqn. becomes,

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. i.e

. ie

Qn. Define half life and hence derive the relation between half life and decay constant(5)
Ans. Half life of a radioactive sample is defined as the time during which the number of
nuclei reduces to 50 % of the original value.
We have ,
Let be the initial no. of nuclei which reduce to 50 % after the half life .
.i.e for we can write in (1) ,

Or

Taking log on both the sides,

. i.e

i.e

Qn. Define mean life or average life and write its expression in terms of half life and
decay constant.
Ans. Mean life or average life of a radioactive sample is the ratio of total life times of all
the nuclei in the sample to the total number of nuclei.
.i.e

. i.e

Further it can be related with half life T as ,

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Qn. Explain the phenomenon of nuclear fission with example.(5)
Ans. It is the process in which a heavy nucleus splits into 2 lighter nuclei of comparable
masses with the release of two to three neutrons and some amount of energy.
For example when is bombarded with slow neutron it splits up into &
with the release of three neutron and energy of 200 MeV. The reaction is as
follows

When uranium is bombarded with slow neutrons the compound nucleus which is
unstable . Further there is difference in masses between the reactants (U+n) and products
(Ba+Kr+3n) which appears as the energy of nearly 200 MeV in the form of KE and heat
energy.
Sometimes there might be other products also like, Xe and Sr with 2 neutrons.

Qn. Explain the phenomenon of nuclear fusion (thermonuclear reaction) with example.(5)
Ans. It is the process in which two lighter nuclei are combined to form a heavy nucleus
with the release of energy.
For ex. when two deuterium nuclei are fused a tritium and a hydrogem
nuclei are released.

When two deuterium come to form a heavy nucleus there will be repulsion due to the +ve
charges on the nuclei. But if the temperature is of the order of 109 K then they can
overcome repulsive force and combine to form a heavy nucleus. Further there is difference
in masses between the reactants ( ) and products ( ) which appears as
the energy of nearly 4.03 MeV in the form of KE and heat energy.
Fusion reaction is also called thermonuclear reaction because it takes place at very high
temperature.
*Qn. Write a note on fusion reaction in sun and other stars.
Ans. In sun and other stars hydrogen and He are abundant which can be understood from
solar spectrum. Thus in sun, in a fusion reaction four H nuclei, one He nucleus is formed
with the release of 26.7 MeV energy. The fusion takes place through Proton-Proton cycle
Or carbon-nitrogen cycle.
The eq. can be written as follows.

Qn. Write any 5 differences between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion.(5)
Ans. The differences between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion are as
follows.

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Nuclear fission Nuclear fusion
1. It is the process in which a heavy It is the process in which two lighter nuclei
nucleus splits into 2 lighter nuclei of are combined to form a heavy nucleus with
comparable masses with the release of the release of energy.
two to three neutrons and some amount
of energy.
2. This process takes place at ordinary This process takes place at high
temperatures. temps.(109K)
3. Here the energy per fission is more Here the energy per fusion is less nearly
nearly 200 Mev for U. 4.03 Mev for fusion of H2.
4. Here the energy per Kg. mass is less. Here the energy per Kg. mass is more.
5. Here waste & harmful products are Here useful and harmless products are
produced. produced.
6. It can be used for constructive or It can be used only for destructive
destructive purposes. purposes.
7. It is easier to achieve. It is difficult to achieve.
8. It doesn’t occur in stars. It occurs in sun & other stars.
9. The example is, 1. The example is,

Qn. Briefly explain decay with an example.

Ans. An particle is nothing but He nucleus emitted during disintegration of the nucleus.
Whenever a nucleus emits an particle, its mass number decreases by 4 units and
the atomic number decreases by 2 units and some amount of energy is released.
For example if a nucleus decays into Y by emitting an particle we can write,

For example when emits an particle it becomes . The reaction is as follows.

.
Here the difference in mass-energy of products and reactants is evolved as the energy or
Q value of the reaction.

Qn. Briefly explain decay with an example.

Ans. The particles are nothing but the electrons( ). When particle is emitted
from the nucleus, its mass number remains same but its atomic number increases by one
unit. For example, when emits , it also emits antineutrino (̅̅̅) &
becomes . The reaction is as follows.
̅̅̅

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 Now when particle is emitted from the nucleus, its mass number remains same but its
atomic number decreases by one unit. For example, when emits it also
emits neutrino ( ) & becomes . The reaction is as follows.

Whenever neutron gets converted into proton, an electron ( ) & antineutrino ( ̅̅̅ )are
emitted.
.i.e ̅
Whenever proton gets converted into neutron, an positron ( ) & neutrino ( ) are emitted.
.i.e

Qn. Briefly explain (gamma) decay with an example.

Whenever a nucleus emits an
particle or particle the nucleus
will be excited and it comes to
the ground state(lower state) by
the emission of energetic
radiation called gamma (
radiation. The energy of this
ray is the difference between
the two states. This process is
called decay.
Whenever decay occurs there
is no change in mass no. & atomic
no. but there is only change in
energy of the nuclear state.

Qn. What is Q value (disintegration energy) of a reaction? Explain in brief.

Ans. The difference between the initial mass energy and the final mass energy of the
decay products is called the Q value or disintegration energy.
Thus, the Q value of an alpha decay can be expressed as
Q= (
This energy is shared by the daughter nucleus and the alpha particle in the form of
kinetic energy.

Nuclei , part 2 continued on next page

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Qn. Explain the phenomenon of nuclear fission with example.(5)
Ans. It is the process in which a heavy nucleus splits into 2 lighter nuclei of comparable
masses with the release of two to three neutrons and some amount of energy.
For example when is bombarded with slow neutron it splits up into &
with the release of three neutron and energy of 200 MeV. The reaction is as follows

When uranium is bombarded with slow neutrons the compound nucleus which is
unstable . Further there is difference in masses between the reactants (U+n) and products
(Ba+Kr+3n) which appears as the energy of nearly 200 MeV in the form of KE and heat
energy.
Sometimes there might be other products also like, Xe and Sr with 2 neutrons.

Qn. Explain the phenomenon of nuclear fusion (thermonuclear reaction) with example.(5)
Ans. It is the process in which two lighter nuclei are combined to form a heavy nucleus
with the release of energy.
For ex. when two deuterium nuclei are fused a tritium and a hydrogem
nuclei are released.

When two deuterium come to form a heavy nucleus there will be repulsion due to the +ve
charges on the nuclei. Thus to combine these nucleons the average energy required is
400keV and the corresponding temperature is found by using the relation,

Thus at this temperature the nuclei can overcome repulsive force and combine to form a
heavy nucleus. Further there is difference in masses between the reactants ( )
and products ( ) which appears as the energy of nearly 4.03 MeV in the form of
KE and heat energy.
Fusion reaction is also called thermonuclear reaction because it takes place at very high
temperature.
*Qn. Write a note on fusion reaction in sun and other stars.
Ans. In sun and other stars hydrogen and He are abundant which can be understood from
solar spectrum. Thus in sun, in a fusion reaction four H nuclei, one He nucleus is formed
with the release of 26.7 MeV energy. The fusion takes place through Proton-Proton cycle
Or carbon-nitrogen cycle.
The proton-proton cycle is as follows

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The overall process can be written as follows.

Qn. Define the following; (a). nuclear chain reaction (b) controlled chain reaction
(c) uncontrolled chain reaction (d) multiplication factor(K) and various values of K for
different reactions.
Answer.
(a). Nuclear chain reaction : The nuclear chain (fission) reaction is one in which the
number of neutrons goes on multiplying in geometric progression until all the fissionable
material undergoes fission.
(b) Controlled chain reaction : The controlled chain reaction is one in which the rate of
fission reaction and energy are controlled by controlling the neutron population.
This forms the principle of nuclear power reactor.
(c) Uncontrolled chain reaction: The uncontrolled chain reaction is one in which the rate
of fission reaction, neutron population and energy are uncontrolled.
This forms the principle of atom bomb.
(d) Multiplication factor(K) : It is the ratio of number of neutrons produced in a fission
reaction to the number of neutrons produced in the preceding reaction.
.i.e.

 If multiplication factor , the operation of the reactor is said to be critical, for

which controlled chain reaction takes place.
 If multiplication factor , the operation of the reactor is said to be subcritical,
for which fission chain reaction stops finally.
 If multiplication factor , the operation of the reactor is said to be
supercritical, for which uncontrolled chain reaction takes place.

Qn. What is power reactor? Explain its construction and working of nuclear power
reactor.
(Students are requested to write the following if they ask construction or working or
both)
Ans: Power reactor is the device which converts nuclear energy into
electrical energy.
Its construction, various parts and working is as follows;

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 Coolant ( )
HEAT EXCHANGER
(STEAM GENERATOR)
Reflector
Control
rods STEAM TO TURBINE

core
WATER FROM
CONDENSER

Fissionable material called nuclear fuel such as or is filled in

the aluminium cylinder and inserted in the graphite block present in the core of the
reactor.
The neutrons released in the fission reaction are fast neutrons of KE 2 MeV
which cannot cause further fusion. Thus to slow down these neutrons to thermal
energies the moderators are used. The commonly used moderators are water , heavy
water, graphite and beryllium etc.
The neutrons produced in the reaction should not escape from the rector. To
avoid this, the walls of the reactor should reflect the neutrons back into the
reactor. For this purpose graphite is used as reflector.
The harmful radiations produced in the reaction should not escape out of the
reactor, for which very thick concrete walls of thickness nearly 2m are used.
In actual working of the rector, the heat produced due to controlled fusion
reaction is collected by passing heavy water into the reactor which is also called coolant.
This heavy water collected fro the core is passed into the heat exchanger. In heat
exchanger the water is circulated which gets converted into steam. The steam is then
used to rotate turbine which is connected to the electromagnet. The electromagnet
rotates in the magnetic field to generate electricity.
To control the neutron population and the rate of fission reaction, control rods are
used in the core. The control rods are made up of boron or cadmium. At any instant to
stop the reaction all the control rods are brought in to the core to absorb the neutrons.
Note. These notes do not provide sufficient information for CET and competitive exams.

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