Nuclear Energy Vocabulary

the disintegration of an unstable atomic nucleus into one or more different nuclides

• nuclear radiation

• radioactive decay

• nuclear force

• radioactivity

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NGSS.HS-PS1-8

the particles that are released from the nucleus during radioactive decay

• unstable particles

• gas particles

• nuclear radiation

• radioactive decay

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NGSS.HS-PS1-8

a positively charged particle that consists of two protons and two neutrons and that is emitted from a nucleus during radioactive decay

• alpha particle

• radioactive particle

• gamma ray

• beta particle

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NGSS.HS-PS1-8

an electron or positron that is emitted from a nucleus during radioactive decay

• alpha particle

• beta particle

• gamma ray

• nuclear particle

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NGSS.HS-PS1-8

the high-energy photon emitted by a nucleus during fission and radioactive decay

• beta particle

• gamma ray

• alpha particle

• positron

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NGSS.HS-PS1-8

a particle with a +1e charge and a mass the same as an electron;

also called the antiparticle of the electron

• photon

• alpha particle

• positron

• neutrino

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NGSS.HS-PS3-5

a packet (quantum) of energy with no mass and no electrical charge, but it has momentum

• electron
• photon
• positron

• alpha particle

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NGSS.HS-PS4-3

the time required for half of a sample of a radioactive isotope to break down by radioactive decay to form a daughter isotope

• lifetime

• half-life

• decay rate

• radioactive decay

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NGSS.HS-PS1-8

the force that holds the nucleus together

• electrical force

• atomic force

• strong nuclear force

• opposite force

the process by which a nucleus splits into two or more fragments and releases neutrons and energy

• fission

• fusion

• bonding

• decomposing

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8