Physical Science - Ch 8 Vocab

1. an attractive force that holds protons and neutrons together in a nucleus

1. the naturally occurring, spontaneous change of an unstable isotope to a more stable one by emitting particles or energy or both; also known as nuclear decay or radioactivity

1. a helium nucleus (a or 4/2 He) that is emitted from a nucleus when a radioactive isotope experiences alpha decay

1. an electron (B or 0/-1 e) emitted from a nucleus when a radioactive isotope experiences beta decay

1. a nuclear decay that results in the emission of an alpha particle

1. a nuclear decay that results in the emission of a beta particle

1. a nuclear decay that results in the emission of gamma rays

1. the time in which half the atoms of a radioactive sample will probably decay

a nuclear reaction in which a large nucleus splits into smaller nuclei

a self-sustaining nuclear fission process in which neutrons produced in one fission reaction trigger more fission events.