VisionLearning: Nuclear Chemistry

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published by the Visionlearning
written by Anthony Carpi
supported by the National Science Foundation

Available Languages: English, Spanish

This tutorial on nuclear chemistry for non-scientists explores the basics of radioactive decay and nuclear fission. It contains four interactive simulations that depict fission of a U-235 atom, two types of radioactive chain reactions, and nuclear fusion.

Editor's Note: This tutorial could be highly useful to teachers seeking additional content knowledge in radioactivity and nuclear fission. The conversational language is appropriate for high school students as well. Don't miss the "Questions and Quizzes" and links to additional resources on the topic.

Please note that this resource requires Flash.

https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Chemistry/1/Nuclear-Chem...

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Modern Physics - Nuclear Physics = Models of the Nucleus = Nuclear Reactions = Radioactivity	- High School - Middle School - Lower Undergraduate	- Instructional Material = Tutorial

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Learners - Educators	- text/html - application/flash	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 2003 VisionLearning
Additional information is available.
Keywords:: U-235, Uranium-235, alpha decay, alpha particles, controlled fission, fission simulation, fission tutorial, half-life, neutron, nuclear structure, nucleus, nucleus, nucleus structure, radioactive decay, radioactive isotopes, radioactivity, structure of the nucleus, unstable element
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created July 21, 2011 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: August 4, 2016 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: April 30, 2006
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

4. The Physical Setting

4D. The Structure of Matter

6-8: 4D/M1a. All matter is made up of atoms, which are far too small to see directly through a microscope.
9-12: 4D/H1. Atoms are made of a positively charged nucleus surrounded by negatively charged electrons. The nucleus is a tiny fraction of the volume of an atom but makes up almost all of its mass. The nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons which have roughly the same mass but differ in that protons are positively charged while neutrons have no electric charge.
9-12: 4D/H3. Although neutrons have little effect on how an atom interacts with other atoms, the number of neutrons does affect the mass and stability of the nucleus. Isotopes of the same element have the same number of protons (and therefore of electrons) but differ in the number of neutrons.
9-12: 4D/H4. The nucleus of radioactive isotopes is unstable and spontaneously decays, emitting particles and/or wavelike radiation. It cannot be predicted exactly when, if ever, an unstable nucleus will decay, but a large group of identical nuclei decay at a predictable rate. This predictability of decay rate allows radioactivity to be used for estimating the age of materials that contain radioactive substances.

4E. Energy Transformations

9-12: 4E/H6. Energy is released whenever the nuclei of very heavy atoms, such as uranium or plutonium, split into middleweight ones, or when very light nuclei, such as those of hydrogen and helium, combine into heavier ones. For a given quantity of a substance, the energy released in a nuclear reaction is very much greater than the energy given off in a chemical reaction.

11. Common Themes

11B. Models

6-8: 11B/M1. Models are often used to think about processes that happen too slowly, too quickly, or on too small a scale to observe directly. They are also used for processes that are too vast, too complex, or too dangerous to study.
6-8: 11B/M4. Simulations are often useful in modeling events and processes.

11D. Scale

6-8: 11D/M3. Natural phenomena often involve sizes, durations, and speeds that are extremely small or extremely large. These phenomena may be difficult to appreciate because they involve magnitudes far outside human experience.

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=11336">Carpi, Anthony. VisionLearning: Nuclear Chemistry. Visionlearning, April 30, 2006.</a>

AIP Format

A. Carpi, (Visionlearning, 2003), WWW Document, (https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Chemistry/1/Nuclear-Chemistry/59).

AJP/PRST-PER

A. Carpi, VisionLearning: Nuclear Chemistry (Visionlearning, 2003), <https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Chemistry/1/Nuclear-Chemistry/59>.

APA Format

Carpi, A. (2006, April 30). VisionLearning: Nuclear Chemistry. Retrieved May 1, 2025, from Visionlearning: https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Chemistry/1/Nuclear-Chemistry/59

Chicago Format

Carpi, Anthony. VisionLearning: Nuclear Chemistry. Visionlearning, April 30, 2006. https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Chemistry/1/Nuclear-Chemistry/59 (accessed 1 May 2025).

MLA Format

Carpi, Anthony. VisionLearning: Nuclear Chemistry. Visionlearning, 2003. 30 Apr. 2006. National Science Foundation. 1 May 2025 <https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Chemistry/1/Nuclear-Chemistry/59>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Author = "Anthony Carpi", Title = {VisionLearning: Nuclear Chemistry}, Publisher = {Visionlearning}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {1 May 2025}, Month = {April 30, 2006}, Year = {2003} }

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%A Anthony Carpi %T VisionLearning: Nuclear Chemistry %D April 30, 2006 %I Visionlearning %U https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Chemistry/1/Nuclear-Chemistry/59 %O text/html

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%0 Electronic Source %A Carpi, Anthony %D April 30, 2006 %T VisionLearning: Nuclear Chemistry %I Visionlearning %V 2025 %N 1 May 2025 %8 April 30, 2006 %9 text/html %U https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Chemistry/1/Nuclear-Chemistry/59

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VisionLearning: Nuclear Chemistry:

Covers the Same Topic (Different Course Level) As An Introduction to Chemistry: Nuclear Chemistry

This chapter in a cost-free textbook takes an in-depth look at radioactivity, nuclear reactions, calculating half-life, alpha decay, beta decay, and gamma decay.

relation by Caroline Hall

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