What happens when you increase the number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus?

As the number of protons in the nucleus increases, the number of neutrons needed for a stable nucleus increases even more rapidly. Too many protons (or too few neutrons) in the nucleus result in an imbalance between forces, which leads to nuclear instability. Figure 21.2.

What happens when you add more protons to an atom?

Atoms always have an equal number of protons and electrons, and the number of protons and neutrons is usually the same as well. Adding a proton to an atom makes a new element, while adding a neutron makes an isotope, or heavier version, of that atom.

What happens when you increase the number of neutrons in an atom?

If you change the number of neutrons, you create isotopes. Isotopes are basically just lighter or heavier versions of an average element.

Why does adding too much protons or neutrons make an atom unstable?

Too many protons (or too few neutrons) in the nucleus result in an imbalance between forces, which leads to nuclear instability. If the attractive interactions due to the strong nuclear force are weaker than the electrostatic repulsions between protons, the nucleus is unstable, and it will eventually decay.

What happens when an atom loses a proton?

Protons carry a positive electrical charge and they alone determine the charge of the nucleus. Adding or removing protons from the nucleus changes the charge of the nucleus and changes that atom’s atomic number. So, adding or removing protons from the nucleus changes what element that atom is!

What happens to an atom when the number of protons neutrons or electrons changes while the number of the other two particles remains the same?

When you change the number of protons in an atom, you will change the atom from one element to a different element. If you change the number of electrons in an atom, you will get an ion of the element.

Can an atom lose protons?

Alpha decay is the only way in which an atom will spontaneously lose protons. An alpha particle consists of two protons and two neutrons. It is essentially the nucleus of a helium atom. After an atom undergoes an alpha emission, it has two fewer protons and becomes an atom of a different element.

What happens if an atom loses a neutron?

If an atom were to gain or lose neutrons it becomes an isotope. If it gains a neutron it become an isotope called deuterium. Since the atomic mass is the total of the number of protons and neutrons, an isotope would have a different atomic mass, but the same atomic number as the original atom.

Why do neutrons change?

Neutron numbers are able to change the mass of atoms, because they weigh about as much as a proton and electron together. If there are many atoms of an element that are isotopes, the average atomic mass for that element will change.

Why does an excess of neutrons cause instability?

A large no. of neutrons makes the nuclei unstable because,a very large nuclei with many protons and too many neutrons can’t be kept together with just the strong nuclear force. Because protons being positive repel each other due to same charges.

Why do neutrons make an atom unstable?

Neutrons are unstable to start with and the only reason atomic nuclei are stable is the attractive strong interaction between protons and neutrons. Clumps consisting of just neutrons are not stable since the binding energy is not enough to cancel the energy gain resulting from neutron decay, so it pays to decay.

Why can’t an atom lose or gain Proton?

Simple model of an atom. The electrons can jump shells by releasing/gaining energy. If an atom develops a positive charge, how could it have happened? It couldn’t possibly have taken on additional protons because protons and neutrons are bound by the strong nuclear force, which keeps the nucleus stable.

How can the half-life of an atom be reduced?

By exciting or deforming the atom’s electrons into states that overlap less with the nucleus, the half-life can be reduced. Since the chemical bonding between atoms involves the deformation of atomic electron wavefunctions, the radioactive half-life of an atom can depend on how it is bonded to other atoms.

How do protons and neutrons stabilize the nucleus?

Neutrons stabilize the nucleus, because they attract each other and protons equally by the strong nuclear force, which helps offset the electrical repulsion between protons. As a result, as the number of protons increases, an increasing ratio of neutrons to protons is needed to form a stable nucleus.

What happens when an atom decays by fission?

An atom can decay by fission to make two or more atoms with a smaller number of protons and neutrons in each new atom. The electrons get distributed between them.

Can the decay half-life of a radioactive material be changed?

Public Domain Image, source: Christopher S. Baird. Yes, the decay half-life of a radioactive material can be changed. Radioactive decay happens when an unstable atomic nucleus spontaneously changes to a lower-energy state and spits out a bit of radiation. This process changes the atom to a different element or a different isotope.