AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Radioactive elements are an unstable form of elements in an atomic nucleus with an excess nuclear charge, which will produce a spontaneous release of radiation. The four common radioactive elements are Uranium, Radium, Polonium, and Thorium.

Detailed explanation-2: -When radioactive atoms decay, they release energy in the form of ionizing radiation (alpha particles, beta particles and/or gamma rays). The energy is called ionizing radiation because it has enough energy to knock tightly bound electrons from an atom’s orbit. This causes the atom to become a charged ion.

Detailed explanation-3: -Radioactive elements are made up of atoms whose nuclei are unstable and give off atomic radiation as part of a process of attaining stability. The emission of radiation transforms radioactive atoms into another chemical element, which may be stable or may be radioactive such that it undergoes further decay.

Detailed explanation-4: -Due to the instability, over time they eject a neutron or proton, or a neutron in the nucleus decays into a proton and electron. This is called radioactive decay, since the original nucleus is “decaying” into a more stable one. Frequently, the decay results in a new element with a lower atomic number.

Detailed explanation-5: -Atoms found in nature are either stable or unstable. An atom is stable if the forces among the particles that makeup the nucleus are balanced. An atom is unstable (radioactive) if these forces are unbalanced; if the nucleus has an excess of internal energy.