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LESSON STUDENT TEACHER WORKSHEET GUIDE Pennies are Learn nuclear science at home A JINA/NSCL outreach service by Zach Constan Version 1.0 • April 2020

You are made of . Atoms are tiny building blocks of matter that Introduction come in many different types (ele- The ments) and make up all the objects you know: pencils, cars, the Earth, Teacher’s notes will appear in this the Sun. Atoms consist of a core margin. of protons and called the “nucleus” which is surrounded by a This was adapted from a series of documents related to the Marble Nuclei “cloud” of . The electrons Figure 1. A schematic of the atom Project, downloadable from are MUCH farther away than in (Bohr model, not to scale). https://www.jinaweb.org/education- the picture at right! al-outreach/marble-nuclei-lessons The nucleus of the atom is : if an atom was the size of a football small These lessons were featured in AAPT’s field, the nucleus would be a golf ball sitting on the 50-yard line. Yet the The Physics Teacher: nucleus is critical to how our universe works, and so scientists in the http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.3293660 Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA) study it every day. They need advanced research facilities such as the National Superconduct- The Marble Nuclei lessons/activities ing Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan State University (and its are only one of the outreach programs upgrade, the Facility for Rare Beams, or FRIB). offered by JINA at https://www.jinaweb.org/educa- You can picture what a nucleus is like by building a model. Scientists tion-outreach use models to envision things they can’t look at easily, like how galaxies form over billions of years or how a low-pressure front will affect the This material is based upon work sup- weather tomorrow. We can never see the nucleus directly, so it helps to ported by the National Science foun- make a model and consider how it is (or is not) like a real nucleus! dation uner Grant No. PHY-1430152 (JINA Center for the Evolution of For your model of a nucleus, you’ll need a few small items to represent Elements) protons and neutrons, eight of each. For example: • Coins: pennies could be protons while nickels are neutrons • Two colors of LEGO bricks You may want to reinforce that the • Two colors of beads student will be using a model which • Two kinds of cereal doesn’t accurately represent the nucle- • Two colors of M&Ms – just don’t eat them us or its behavior. until after you’ve mastered nuclear science The examples in this document will all use coins. Remember: whatever items you choose Figure 2. to represent protons and neutrons, they really A penny-nickel nucleus ARE made of protons and neutrons!

You’ll also need paper or plastic plate, a periodic table and the Chart of (both attached at the end of this document).

© 2012 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. 1 Part 1 The Periodic Table

Naming Nuclei 1 2 H He Hydrogen Helium Students will learn about matter on the 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Li Be B C N O F Ne subatomic scale Lithium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar - examining the nucleus Sodium Magnesium Aluminum Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 - identify the nucleus according to its K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton

element and isotope 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd ln Sn Sb Te I Xe Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon

55 56 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 Cs Ba Lu Hf Ta W Re Os lr Pt Au Hg TI Pb Bi Po At Rn Cesium Barium 57 - 70 Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Gold Mercury Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon

87 88 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 Fr Ra Lr Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Nh Fl Mc Lv Ts Og Francium Radium 89 - 102 Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson

57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 *Lanthanide series La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium

** series 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium

The Periodic Table features the Figure 3. The known elements in our universe. Periodic Table Each element has a unique “atomic of the Elements 4 number” - all atoms of that ele- (above) and the ment have that number of protons Table entry for the element be- in their nucleus. For example, the Be ryllium (Be). The Beryllium element beryllium has four protons. Having four protons is what makes appears at the top. it beryllium!

Build a model beryllium nucleus by arranging four of your “” pieces together in a group.

Almost all nuclei contain neutrons as well as protons, so your model should too! Examine the nucleus at right. It has 4 protons, which N P N makes it the element beryllium. It N P 9Be also has 5 neutrons, for a total of P N 9 particles. We call that nucleus N P beryllium-9. Figure 4. Schematic of a beryllium-9 Build a beryllium-9 nucleus by add- nucleus (left) and a corresponding ing five “” pieces! “nucleus” of coins (right)

You could imagine the beryllium nucleus having fewer neutrons; for instance, only 4, for a total of 8 particles. Change your nucleus into beryllium-8 (4 proton pieces and 4 neutron pieces), then a beryllium-10 to see the difference. Figure 5. Comparison of beryllium-8 (left) versus beryllium-10 (right) Compare the two varieties of beryllium you made (and in the figure); both are the same element with the same chemical properties - they could serve the same function in your body, for example.

2 © 2012 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. P The number of neutrons can go farther up or down, making manyN vari- N eties of beryllium, also known as “”. Just as the numberP of Npro-N P 10 tons determines what element your nucleus is, the number of neutronsN Be determines which isotope of that element. P N

Figure 6. Several nuclei with a common number of protons (same element), but νe varying numbers of neutrons (different isotopes of that element).

You can name any nucleus (like the example at Checkpoint: Find out if students can right) in a few steps: P N specify how to name an isotope. 1. Count the number of protons in it. This atom- N - ic number (also called “Z”) represents the N P 10 Answer: eProton number represents el- P P ement, and adding neutrons yields the protons that determine what element this B total number of particles to determine nucleus is. N N P the isotope. 2. Give it an element name or a “sym- bol” (short version on the Periodic Figure 7. Name this nucleus: Table). A nucleus with this many pro- what element/isotope? tons is the element boron, or symbol “B”. Find it in the Periodic Table and check the atomic number. 3. Count the number of neutrons in it. Neutrons determine what isotope the nucleus is. This number is often called “N”. 4. The number of neutrons plus protons determines what isotope of This is the step that is most often boron it is. This total is also called “” and represented missed! The isotope is the SUM of by the letter “A”. Add the protons and neutrons to get the total number protons and neutrons. of particles in this nucleus: Z + N = A 5. Write the name of this nucleus using the element name/symbol and Answer: boron-10, B-10, 10B isotope/mass number as “Name-A” or “Symbol-A” or “ASymbol”.

Try the opposite way: starting with the name of a nucleus, carbon-12 Answer: 6 pennies, 6 nickels (also known as C-12 or 12C), build it with your proton and neutron pieces.

By adding or taking away neutron pieces, you can make many different Chart of the Nuclides isotopes of one element. You could imagine organizing all of these iso- topes on a graph, according to the number of neutrons on the horizontal x-axis and the number of protons on the vertical y-axis. Laying out isotopes this way is great for visualizing their organization. Of course, it’s easy to imagine far more isotopes than actually exist!

Figure 8. A chart of nuclei according to their numbers of neutrons and protons. © 2012 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. 3 Isotope BINGO! (board made from Chart of the Nuclides)

O 12 O 13 O 14 O 15 O 16 Oxygen 8 <0.001s 70.5s 99.758% 2 protons 0.009s 0.122s

N 11StudentsN can12 spend timeN learning13 to ScientistsN 14 who studyN the 15nucleus have done this: it’s called the “chart of 7 read the Chart of the Nuclides with the the nuclides”. A simple Chart is attachedNitrogen inside this document. <0.001s“Isotope BINGO”0.011s activity later9.9 in7 thism 99.63% 0.37% O O 13 O 14 O 15 O 16 O 17 O 18 O 19 O 20 O 21 O 22 O 23 O 24 document, though they should learn 8 Oxygen 0.009s 70.5s 0.122s 99.758% 0.038% 0.204% 26.8s 13.5s 3.4s 2.2s 0.08s 0.065s more about decay and half-life in Part 2 7 N N 12 N 13 N 14 N 15 N 16 N 17 N 18 N 19 N 20 N 21 N 22 N 23 (below) first. Nitrogen 0.011s 9.97m 99.63% 0.37% 7.10s 4.17s 0.63s 0.42s 0.13s 0.08s 0.028s 0.014s 6 C C 9 C 10 C 11 C 12 C 13 C 14 C 15 C 16 C 17 C 18 C 19 C 20 C 22 C 10 C 11 CFREE12 C 13 CarbonC 0.127s1419.3s 20.3m 98.89% 1.11% 5730y 2.45s 0.75s 0.19s 0.092s 0.05s 0.01s 0.009s B B 8 B 9 B 10 B 11 CarbonB 12 B 13 B 14 B 15 B 17 B 19 5 Boron 0.770s <0.001s 20% 80% 0.020s 0.018s 0.005s 0.003s 6 5730protony 0.017s 0.018s 19.3s 20.3m 98.89%98 1.11%Be Be 6 Be 7 Be 8 Be 9 Be 10 Be 11 Be 12 Be 14 4 Beryllium <0.001s 53.28d <0.001s 100% >1 million y 13.8s 0.011s 11 12 13 14 15 16 SPACE proton alpha 0.005s Li Li 5 Li 6 Li 7 Li 8 Li 9 Li 11 9 10 3 Lithium <0.001s 7.5% 92.5% A full (and current) Chart of the Nu- proton 0.844s 0.177s 0.009s clides can be found at 2 He He 3 He 4 He 6 He 8 7 8 Helium 0.0001% 99.9999% 0.805s 0.122s B 9 http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/chart/B 10 B 11 B 12H H 1 H 2 BH 3 3134 5 6 1 Hydrogen 99.985% 0.015% 12.33y Protons (Elements) Protons Boron 5 n 1 <0.001s 20% 80% P 0.020s 10.4m 0.017s 0 1 2 N Neutrons (Isotopes) Be 8 Be 9 Be 10FigureBe 9. A11 portion ofB thee Chart12 of the NuclidesBeryllium Proton number (Elements) Proton >1 million 4 <0.001sThe Periodic1 0Table0% has no information Each1 row3. 8ons the Chart0.011s represents one element, with all the boxes being about isotopes, instead it is organizedyears different isotopes named for the element and mass (total particles). This according to the elements’ chemical is actually just the first eight elements of the whole Chart (see below), P properties governed by the number of which presents all known isotopes for each element and is very useful valence (outer) electrons. for nuclear7 scientists. 8 4 5 Answer: lithium-96 Quick quiz: what is the name of the isotope that has 3 protons and 6 neu- trons (hint: find the box on the full-size Chart)? Build it!

N The periodic table only lists 118 Neutron numberPart 2 elements, (Isotopes) but the whole Chart of How to read the Chart the Nuclides (at right) shows over 3000 known isotopes! The simpli- (and what it means) fied version on your Chart only shows the tiny bottom left corner. Students will learn the difference be- Each box specifies the element and DO NOT WRITE ON THIS CARDtween stableLEGEND and unstable isotopes, the mass number, plus details de- significance of half-lives, and how nu- pending on the type of isotope: Isotope name: clei change through radioactive decay Element Mass Number Rules: the bingo master will call Box color/shape indicates how the isotope decays (comesStable apart):isotopes (like O-16, at out an isotope of a certain kind. Black square = stable, won’tright) decay have black boxes. “Stable” means unchanging and perma- Use the Chart/Game board Pink diamond = unstable, beta-plus decay nent. They list an abundance:O what15 O 16 above and instructions to the Blue circle = unstable, beta-minuspercent of that decay element on Earth is right to pick one that works and Yellow triangle = unstablethis, proton specific decay isotope. 0.122 s 99.758% build it with your marbles (if Green checker = unstable, alpha decay requested). Mark it with a small Unstable isotopes (like O-15, see next page) don’t last forever. They piece of paper numbered in theHalf-life actually indicates the time in which the nucleus has a 50/50 chance“Half-Life”: list half-life the time times period (like lifetimes, in which a Abundance: percent of order that clue was called (First some short and some long) and radioactiveof decaying nucleus has a 50% chance of decaying element found on Earth that clue = “1”, etc.) Get five in a row colored shapes indicates how (only for unstable isotopes,the nucleus boxes withwill change colored itself shapes) by will be this isotope (only for and yell “BINGO” to win! s = seconds m = releasingminutes a particle d = days (type ofy =radio years- stable isotopes, black boxes) active decay). Figure 10. The full Chart and one box. 4 © 2012 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. Isotope BINGO! (board made from Chart of the Nuclides)

O 12 O 13 O 14 O 15 O 16 Oxygen 8 <0.001s 70.5s 99.758% 2 protons 0.009s 0.122s

N 11 N 12 N 13 N 14 N 15 Nitrogen 7 <0.001s 0.011s 9.97m 99.63% 0.37%

C 10 C 11 CFREE12 C 13 C 14 Carbon 6 19.3s 20.3m 98.89%98 1.11% 5730y SPACE B 9 B 10 B 11 B 12 B 13 Boron 5 <0.001s 20% 80% 0.020s 0.017s

Be 8 Be 9 Be 10 Be 11 Be 12 Beryllium Proton number (Elements) Proton 4 <0.001s >1 million 100% years 13.8s 0.011s P 4 5 6 7 8 N Neutron number (Isotopes)

DO NOT WRITE ON THIS CARD LEGEND Isotope name: Element Mass Number Rules: the bingo master will call Box color/shape indicates how the isotope decays (comes apart): out an isotope of a certain kind. Black square = stable, won’t decay The legends in figures 10 and 11 also Use the Chart/Game board Pink diamond = unstable, beta-plus decay appear on the Chart of Nuclides in above and instructions to the Blue circle = unstable, beta-minus decay O 15 Othis 16document, and should be all the right to pick one that works and Yellow triangle = unstable, proton decay 0.122 s 99.758%students need to read the chart. Of build it with your marbles (if Green checker = unstable, alpha decay course, the explanations of these facts are below. requested). Mark it with a small piece of paper numbered in the “Half-Life”: the time period in which a Abundance:This lesson doesn’t percent go ofinto detail order that clue was called (First about types of radioactive decay. The radioactive nucleus has a 50% chance of decaying element found on Earth that Marble Nuclei lesson (linked in the clue = “1”, etc.) Get five in a row (only for unstable isotopes, boxes with colored shapes) will be this isotope (only for and yell “BINGO” to win! teacher notes on the first page) has a s = seconds m = minutes d = days y = years stablemore thorough isotopes, explanation. black boxes) Figure 11: Legend for an unstable isotope box on the Chart.

You are surrounded by stable isotopes: long-lasting, NOT radioactive, and so they are common. The carbon-12 in your body is stable - build What makes an one now. You’ll see that carbon-12 has a black square on the chart. isotope unstable?

Now take away one neutron to get carbon-11. Its square has the pink dia- Stable and low-energy nuclei form a mond of an unstable isotope: short-lived, radioactive, and rare. Its half- line in the Chart of Nuclides called the life is about 20 minutes, so it doesn’t last long before decaying. “.” All other nuclei are higher-energy and radioactive; the Stable nuclei have a combination of protons and neutrons that is low process of decaying (releasing a par- energy, at least compared to nuclei around them on the Chart. Unstable ticle) should lower their energy and nuclei are teetering at high energy. eventually change them into a nucleus in the Valley. The extra energy in unstable isotopes will eventually come out as a particle, possibly a whole proton or neutron. Make a beryllium-8 on your plate and then shake it up and down a bit - particles might fall off! Losing particles through radiation should lower the energy Figure 12: An unstable iso- of the nucleus and make it more stable. Did tope with extra energy. your nucleus change? What is it now?

On the campus of Michigan State University, there is a laboratory called Making rare isotopes the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) that studies rare isotopes not found on Earth. They are made on-site by accelerating stable/common on Earth nuclei to nearly half the speed of light and smashing them really hard! FRIB is a world-leading rare isotope Collect a carbon-12 nucleus in your hand and research laboratory, enabling experi- hold it about 12 inches over the plate. Drop it ments that have never been done before onto the plate - some of the protons or neu- and can’t be done anywhere else on trons may have bounced away. What ele- Earth! ment/isotope is left on the plate? That is one reason that MSU’s nucle- This is how FRIB researchers create rare iso- ar science school is top-ranked in the topes on demand! Otherwise, we would not Figure 13: Before and after United States. have them available for study. “smashing” a nucleus.

© 2012 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. 5 Amazing Nuclei Scientists at NSCL have learned much about some very rare and unusu- al nuclei - some are different shapes (flat as a pancake) or oblong like a football. Make some interesting shapes with your pieces!

Students are often interested in halo Researchers are very curious about the structure of lithium-11, which nuclei. For more resources, look up has two neutrons in a large “halo” around its other particles. Build a http://focus.aps.org/story/v17/st23 lithium-11 nucleus with your pieces.

This “halo” makes the lithi- um-11 nucleus as big as lead- 208, a nucleus that contains almost 20 times as many par- ticles! Pull two neutrons off your nucleus and place them as far out as you think they’d have to be to make a nucleus the same size as one that contains 208 pieces. Figure 14. The “halo” nucleus lithium-11 At least one current theory projects compared to lead-208. that there are over 8000 possible iso- Over 3000 isotopes have been topes, meaning that we’re only halfway discovered so far. We know a through discovering them! The FRIB few isotopes can’t exist (pro- lab is predicted to discover over 1000 tons or neutrons fall off), but new isotopes. we’re not sure how much “undiscovered territory” there is on the Chart of Nuclides. Can Figure 15. Undiscovered Territory - you make an isotope that doesn’t how many more isotopes can exist out appear on your Chart? here, beyone the edges?

Learning about how nuclei be- have also helps us understand how stars work! The sun and other stars shine because they are “fusing” nuclei together - basically, fast nuclei run into each other and stick, making a bigger nucleus. This fusion makes new elements! Build three helium-4 nuclei and combine them to create carbon-12. If you’ve Figure 16. The carbon-12 nuclei in your body were made by a star fusing helium-4 ever wondered where you came from, we know your carbon was made in a star just like that!

Discover more With your proton and neutron pieces, try the games on the next few pages to learn more about the Chart of Nuclides and how new nuclei are built in stars!

FRIB’s nuclear video game, ISOTOPOLIS, is free on the App Store and Google Play: https://gamedev.msu.edu/isotopolis/

Lots of YouTube videos, a virtual lab tour, and much more about FRIB: https://nscl.msu.edu/public/learning.html

6 © 2012 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. Periodic Table of the Elements

1 Atomic # 2 H He Hydrogen Element Helium 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Li Be Symbol B C N O F Ne Lithium Beryllium Element Name Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar Sodium Magnesium Aluminum Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton

37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd ln Sn Sb Te I Xe Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon

55 56 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 Cs Ba Lu Hf Ta W Re Os lr Pt Au Hg TI Pb Bi Po At Rn Cesium Barium 57 - 70 Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon

87 88 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 Fr Ra Lr Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Nh Fl Mc Lv Ts Og Francium Radium 89 - 102 Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson

57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 *Lanthanide series La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium

**Actinide series 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium CHART of the NUCLIDES featuring the first eight elements O O 13 O 14 O 15 O 16 O 17 O 18 O 19 O 20 O 21 O 22 O 23 O 24 8 Oxygen 0.009s 70.5s 0.122s 99.758% 0.038% 0.204% 26.8s 13.5s 3.4s 2.2s 0.08s 0.065s N N 12 N 13 N 14 N 15 N 16 N 17 N 18 N 19 N 20 N 21 N 22 N 23 7 Nitrogen 0.011s 9.97m 99.63% 0.37% 7.10s 4.17s 0.63s 0.42s 0.13s 0.08s 0.028s 0.014s C C 9 C 10 C 11 C 12 C 13 C 14 C 15 C 16 C 17 C 18 C 19 C 20 C 22 6 Carbon 0.127s 19.3s 20.3m 98.89% 1.11% 5730y 2.45s 0.75s 0.19s 0.092s 0.05s 0.01s 0.009s B B 8 B 9 B 10 B 11 B 12 B 13 B 14 B 15 B 17 B 19 5 <0.001s 0.005s 0.003s Boron 0.770s proton 20% 80% 0.020s 0.017s 0.018s 0.018s Be Be 6 Be 7 Be 8 Be 9 Be 10 Be 11 Be 12 Be 14 4 Beryllium <0.001s <0.001s >1 million y 11 12 13 14 15 16 proton 53.28d alpha 100% 13.8s 0.011s 0.005s Li Li 5 Li 6 Li 7 Li 8 Li 9 Li 11 9 10 3 Lithium <0.001s 7.5% 92.5% proton 0.844s 0.177s 0.009s 2 He He 3 He 4 He 6 He 8 7 8 Isotope name: Helium 0.0001% 99.9999% 0.805s 0.122s Element Mass Number Naturally-occurring Half-life/typical decay time abundance of this isotope O 15 (only for unstable isotopes, H H 1 H 2 H 3 3 4 5 6 (only for stable isotopes, B 10 Li 11 boxes with colored shapes) 1 Hydrogen 99.985% 0.015% 12.33y black boxes) 20% 0.009s 0.122s s = seconds m = minutes Protons (Elements) Protons d = days y = years Stable, Beta- Beta- n 1 no minus plus P 10.4m decay decay decay A colored shape inside a box indicates the isotope is unstable, will decay (come apart), and how; 0 1 2 decay types are explained on reverse side N Neutrons (Isotopes)

From “Learn Nuclear Science with Marbles” by JINA-CEE www.jinaweb.org/educational-outreach/marble-nuclei-lessons Types of radioactive decay From “Learn Nuclear Science with Marbles” by JINA-CEE www.jinaweb.org/educational-outreach/marble-nuclei-lessons Be 6 Be 7 Be 8 Be 9 Be 10 <0.001s <0.001s >1 million y proton 53.28d alpha 100% Yellow triangle = Pink diamond = Green checkerboard = Black square = Blue circle = proton decay beta-plus decay alpha decay stable isotope, beta-minus decay no decay Nucleus ejects P Turns a proton P Nucleus ejects PP Turns a neutron N one proton into a neutron, an alpha particle % = abundance of this into a proton, N NN P emits a positron (two protons & isotope found in nature emits an & a neutrino two neutrons) & antineutrino

Isotope moves Isotope moves Isotope moves Isotope moves down one down one down 2 squares, left one square, square on chart square, right one left 2 squares up one square square on chart on chart on chart

P P N N P N N P N 6 N 7 P P N N 10 Be N P Be P N 8 P Be P P P P N P Be N N N P N P

νe

νe P P P N N N + N P P N P 10 e- N 5 Pe N N 7 N 4 N 4 P P B P Li N Li e+ He N He N P P P P N P P N The Chart of Nuclides is a great way to organize and describe the Isotope BINGO known isotopes, once you learn what all the shapes and numbers mean!

This game helps students understand isotopes & read the Chart of Nuclides Be 6 Be 7 Be 8 Be 9 Be 10 Estimated time: ~10-15 minutes <0.001s <0.001s >1 million y proton 53.28d alpha 100% The following clues can be selected by Yellow triangle = Pink diamond = Green checkerboard = Black square = Blue circle = writing them out on slips of paper and proton decay beta-plus decay alpha decay stable isotope, beta-minus decay Each player needs: no decay picking from a hat, or some other meth- Nucleus ejects P Turns a proton P Nucleus ejects PP Turns a neutron N one proton into a neutron, an alpha particle % = abundance of this into a proton, • A BINGO card (next page)N NN P od. It doesn’t even have to be random! emits a positron (two protons & isotope found in nature emits an electron • Two types of& a smallneutrino “gametwo pieces” neutrons) that serve as protons& antineutrino or neutrons, “Choose one isotope that:” Isotope8 movesof each. ForIsotope example: moves penniesIsotope moves as protons and nickelsIsotope as neutrons moves down one down one down 2 squares, left one square, • Is stable • squareSome on chart way tosquare, mark right one the squaresleft 2 squares (bits of paper, more coins,up one square etc.) • Will undergo proton decay square on chart on chart on chart P P P N N N N First, markP N 6 carbon-12P sinceN 7 it is aP freeP N space. P N N P 10 • Will undergo beta-plus decay P P Be N P Be N P 8 Be P Be N P N • Will undergo beta-minus decay N P N

• Has mass number 10 To play the game, listen for the leader to call out a “clue”, a descriptionνe νe P of a particularP kindP of isotope. For example, the leader may say:N N “an • Has mass number 11 N + N P P N P 10 e- N 5 Pe N N 7 N 4 N 4 P P B P Li N Li e+ He N He N • Has mass number 12 isotopeP with four PneutronsP .” P N P P N • Has mass number 13 • Has mass number 14 • You must choose one and only • Is the most common for its element one isotope on your BINGO card (highest percentage) that matches that description (in • Has a half-life of less than a second this example, any isotope in • Has a half-life of more than a the lefthand column: Be-8, B-9, second C-10, N-11, or O-12) • Has more neutrons than protons • Use the legend on the BINGO • Has more protons than neutrons card to remind yourself what • Is the element beryllium the symbols and numbers • Is the element boron mean • Is the element carbon • Build that isotope with your • Is the element nitrogen proton and neutron pieces (use An example Be-9 “nucleus” made from • Is the element oxygen the proton numbers for each 4 pennies representing protons and 5 • Has 4 neutrons row and neutron numbers for nickels representing neutrons. • Has 5 neutrons each column as guides) • Has 6 neutrons • Mark that isotope (using a coin or a scrap of paper) • Has 7 neutrons • Has 8 neutrons Note that each clue will have multiple possible answers, so you • Has an equal number of protons should choose isotopes that are most likely to give you a BINGO! Try and neutrons • Is on the chart (ANY isotope) to remember which isotope you chose for which clue (take notes if • Invent your own clues! necessary) so you can show how you got BINGO at the end. To win: mark off five isotopes in a row (vertically, horizontally, or The “BINGO card” on the next page diagonally, remembering that carbon-12 is a free space). NOTE: four can be printed separately. The use of corners does not win in Isotope BINGO! shapes means the game can be played on black-and-white copies as well. When you have chosen and marked five isotopes in a row,call “BINGO!” to get the leader’s attention. The leader will then check your Because each “clue” has multiple card to make sure your marked isotopes match up with the clues called. matching isotopes on the game card, You should be prepared to explain how your choices matched each of students have some choices and a those clues! chance to use strategy as they play.

2 © 2012 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. Isotope BINGO! (board made from Chart of the Nuclides)

O 12 O 13 O 14 O 15 O 16 Oxygen 8 <0.001s 70.5s 99.758% 2 protons 0.009s 0.122s

N 11 N 12 N 13 N 14 N 15 Nitrogen 7 <0.001s 0.011s 9.97m 99.63% 0.37%

C 10 C 11 CFREE12 C 13 C 14 Carbon 6 19.3s 20.3m 98.89%98 1.11% 5730y SPACE B 9 B 10 B 11 B 12 B 13 Boron 5 <0.001s 20% 80% 0.020s 0.017s

Be 8 Be 9 Be 10 Be 11 Be 12 Beryllium Proton number (Elements) Proton 4 <0.001s >1 million 100% years 13.8s 0.011s P 4 5 6 7 8 N Neutron number (Isotopes)

DO NOT WRITE ON THIS CARD LEGEND 1. The BINGO leader will call Isotope name: Element Mass Number Rulesout :an the isotope bingo master of a certain will call Box color/shape indicates how the isotope decays (comes apart): outkind. an isotope of a certain kind. 2. Use the Chart/game board Black square = stable, won’t decay Use the Chart/Game board Pink diamond = unstable, beta-plus decay aboveabove and and instructions legend to to the the Blue circle = unstable, beta-minus decay O 15 O 16 rightright to topick pick one one that isotope works and of Yellow triangle = unstable, proton decay 0.122 s 99.758% buildthat it kind. with your marbles (if Green checker = unstable, alpha decay 3. requested).Mark that Mark isotope it with with a small piecea scrap of paper of paper numbered or other in the “Half-Life”: the time period in which a Abundance: percent of ordersmall that object. clue was called (First radioactive nucleus has a 50% chance of decaying element found on Earth that 4. Get five in a row and yell clue = “1”, etc.) Get five in a row (only for unstable isotopes, boxes with colored shapes) will be this isotope (only for and‘BINGO” yell “BINGO” to win! to win! s = seconds m = minutes d = days y = years stable isotopes, black boxes)

© 2012 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. 3 Nuclear reactions are the way that Nucleosynthesis many different elements are created! Stars, which are giant balls of mostly Game hydrogen/helium gas, can actually fuse those light elements together This game is intended to help students to form heavier ones. This is called understand isotopes, stability vs. “nucleosynthesis”. We have good ev- radioactivity, and read the Chart of idence to show that this is where the the Nuclides. heavy elements in your body came from. You are made of “star stuff”! Estimated time: ~15-20 minutes Note: this is also the way for stars This process is very important, be- to produce the light we see (among cause it helps us understand how our other things): when fusing nuclei The sun: a place for nucleosynthesis. sun can continue to burn and produce into something bigger, some of the massive amounts of energy for many mass of those protons and neutrons billion years. By comparison, one solar is actually converted into energy. As Einstein pointed out, E=mc2, so a mass of coal burning to produce ener- small amount of mass can become a large amount of energy! Part of that gy at the same rate as the sun would energy is emitted as visible light. only last a few thousand years. How to Play How do fusion and other process- es in a star make heavy elements? How do we get from the lightest Important caveat: for simplicity, this element, hydrogen, to a heavier game deviates significantly from what one that is a major part of your really happens as a star fuses lighter body, like oxygen? To explore elements into heavier ones. We don’t nuclear fusion in a star, you’re go- want your students to become con- ing to play “The Nucleosynthesis fused. For more information, look up Game” created by Donald J. Olbris An example Li-6 “nucleus” made from the “p-p chain” and the “CNO cycle”: and Judith Herzfeld* and modified http://library.thinkquest.org/17940/ 3 pennies representing protons and 3 for JINA. nickels representing neutrons. texts/ppcno_cycles/ppcno_cycles.html Also, check out the website at the You and your opponent(s) will need these items: bottom of the page for more info about • Two six-sided dice the original game! • Two types of small “game pieces” that serve as protons or neutrons, It helps to walk the students through 8 of each. For example: pennies as protons and nickels as neutrons. some example rolls to demonstrate • A paper or plastic plate actions in the game before starting! • The Chart of the Nuclides (attached to this file) The game is simple: each player starts with a hydrogen nucleus (1 Feel free to adjust some rules and/or proton). The first person to build a nucleus that is oxygen (8 protons) or which die rolls produce which nucle- heavier wins! You’ll build your nucleus through nuclear reactions: fu- ar reactions to make this game work sion/capture, decay, and fragmentation. If your game ends too quickly, better for your students. As designed, try best two out of three. If you run into trouble, re-read the instructions odds are that teams will get to 8 before asking for help. protons by undergoing a significant number of beta-minus decays chang- NOTE: this game is not intended to represent the actual process of stellar fusion, rather ing neutrons into protons, which is to familiarize you with some of the reactions involved. The rules on the next page realistic. include simplified versions of common nuclear processes (fusion, decay, etc.) and allow them to take place at all atomic numbers. This makes the game easier to play, while in reality, each step of nucleosynthesis would be dominated by one process. Students may come up against situations not covered in these game *Olbris, D.J. and Herzfeld, J., J. Chem. Ed. 1999, Vol. 76, pp 349-352. rules… in that case, be creative! https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed076p349

2 © 2012 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. 2 1. Each side builds a hydrogen nucleus (start with one proton Game Rules piece). All players roll the dice - highest total goes first. 2. On your turn, roll two dice and check the sum in the right- hand column to see what happens to your nucleus, then follow the appropriate directions for your roll below. A penny 3. Once you’ve changed your nucleus: check your Chart of “proton” To avoid confusion, make sure your Nuclides to see what isotope you made! (# of protons = players know to reverse their action if element, protons + neutrons = isotope). If your nucleus it will result in going off the Chart! doesn’t appear on the Chart, it decays right away! Go back to your previous nucleus by undoing your last move. 4. Continue taking turns, following the nuclear reactions below to build heavier and heavier nuclei (just like a star does). 5. The first side tobuild oxygen or heavier (8 or more protons) wins!

Hydrogen fusion Die Roll 2-3 Add one proton piece to your nucleus. This has a low probability due to the electric repulsion between them.

Absorb a neutron Die Roll 4-5 Add one neutron piece to your nucleus. This reaction depends on the density of free neutrons.

Choose order: add a neutron piece AND do “Radioactive Decay” below. Die Roll 6

Radioactive Decay Die Roll 7-8 Find your nucleus on the Chart of Nuclides and follow the instructions below based on the symbol in its box. Students often get stuck on this, so • Black box: do nothing you might demonstrate it once before • Pink diamond: remove 1 proton piece, add 1 starting. This step keeps students neutron piece (beta-plus decay) from making wildly unlikely isotopes - • Blue circle: remove 1 neutron piece, add 1 pro- thus, it is the most likely die roll. ton piece (beta-minus decay) Also, many unstable isotopes have • Yellow triangle: remove 1 proton piece very short half-lives, so it is more like- • Green checkerboard: remove 2 proton pieces and ly that they will decay before the next 2 neutron pieces (alpha decay) reaction with another particle.

Choose one: add a proton piece OR two neutron pieces to your nucleus. Die Roll 9-10

Bombardment! Die Roll 11 You to “smash” your may choose Interactions between heavy nuclei nucleus your opponents’ AND are very unlikely, but still possible. nucleus, fragmenting one or both. Plus, this reaction (along with “your choice” above) introduces some Hold your nucleus pieces about 12 much-needed strategy into the game. inches over your plate while your opponent does the same. Drop Adjust this height if necessary, your “nuclei” onto the plates. Any depending on the type of pieces and pieces that are not on the plate are removed from that nucleus. plates.

Helium fusion Die Roll 12 Add two proton piecess and two This has a very low probability due to neutron pieces to your nucleus. the electric repulsion between them. © 2012 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. 3