Difference between revisions of "Symbols Used in Nuclear Chemistry"

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The '''Symbols Used in Nuclear Chemistry''' table from the ''Reference Tables for Physical Science: Chemistry'' (2025 Edition) gives the notation for the particles and radiation that appear in nuclear equations. It primarily supports [[HS-PS1-8]].
 
The '''Symbols Used in Nuclear Chemistry''' table from the ''Reference Tables for Physical Science: Chemistry'' (2025 Edition) gives the notation for the particles and radiation that appear in nuclear equations. It primarily supports [[HS-PS1-8]].
  
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[[File:Symbols Used in Nuclear Chemistry.png|340px|class=img-fluid|alt=Symbols Used in Nuclear Chemistry from the Chemistry Reference Tables (2025 Edition)]]
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! Name !! Notation
 
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| alpha || <span style="display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;text-align:right;line-height:1.05;font-size:0.72em;margin-right:1px;">4<br>2</span>He or <span style="display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;text-align:right;line-height:1.05;font-size:0.72em;margin-right:1px;">4<br>2</span>α
 
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| beta || <span style="display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;text-align:right;line-height:1.05;font-size:0.72em;margin-right:1px;">0<br>−1</span>e or <span style="display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;text-align:right;line-height:1.05;font-size:0.72em;margin-right:1px;">0<br>−1</span>β
 
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| gamma || <span style="display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;text-align:right;line-height:1.05;font-size:0.72em;margin-right:1px;">0<br>0</span>γ
 
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| neutron || <span style="display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;text-align:right;line-height:1.05;font-size:0.72em;margin-right:1px;">1<br>0</span>n
 
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| positron || <span style="display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;text-align:right;line-height:1.05;font-size:0.72em;margin-right:1px;">0<br>+1</span>e or <span style="display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;text-align:right;line-height:1.05;font-size:0.72em;margin-right:1px;">0<br>+1</span>β
 
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| proton || <span style="display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;text-align:right;line-height:1.05;font-size:0.72em;margin-right:1px;">1<br>1</span>H or <span style="display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;text-align:right;line-height:1.05;font-size:0.72em;margin-right:1px;">1<br>1</span>p
 
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== What the nuclear symbols table shows ==
 
== What the nuclear symbols table shows ==
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Released Regents questions that cannot be answered without this table, listed by exam. Each link opens the question with its answer key; the standard is the one the question assesses.
 
Released Regents questions that cannot be answered without this table, listed by exam. Each link opens the question with its answer key; the standard is the one the question assesses.
  
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! style="padding: 0.5em 1.5em;" | Exam
 
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| style="background-color:white;" | [[HS-PS1-8]]
 
| style="background-color:white;" | [[HS-PS1-8]]
 
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Latest revision as of 17:39, 25 October 2026

⇱ All Chemistry Reference Tables (2025 Edition)
← The Electromagnetic Spectrum Selected Ions Forming Aqueous Solutions →

The Symbols Used in Nuclear Chemistry table from the Reference Tables for Physical Science: Chemistry (2025 Edition) gives the notation for the particles and radiation that appear in nuclear equations. It primarily supports HS-PS1-8.

Symbols Used in Nuclear Chemistry from the Chemistry Reference Tables (2025 Edition)

What the nuclear symbols table shows

Each particle is written with its mass number as a superscript and its charge (the atomic number, for a nucleus) as a subscript, in front of the symbol. An alpha particle (a helium nucleus) has mass number 4 and charge 2+; a beta particle (an electron) has mass number 0 and charge 1−; gamma radiation has neither mass nor charge; a neutron has mass number 1 and no charge; a positron has mass number 0 and charge 1+; a proton has mass number 1 and charge 1+. Mass numbers and charges are what balance a nuclear equation: the totals on the two sides must be equal, which is how the missing particle or product of a decay is found (together with the atomic numbers on the Periodic Table of the Elements). The assessment boundary of HS-PS1-8 limits decays to alpha, beta, positron and gamma.

The 2011 edition of the Chemistry Reference Tables listed the same symbols (Table O) and also gave a table of selected radioisotopes with their half-lives and decay modes (Table N). The 2025 edition has no radioisotope table, so when a question needs a nuclide's decay mode or half-life, it is given in the question cluster.

Regents Exam Questions

Released Regents questions that cannot be answered without this table, listed by exam. Each link opens the question with its answer key; the standard is the one the question assesses.