The newly discovered element - 117 (named tennessine) for the Oak Ridge Laboratory where experiments took place) is made by bombarding an atom of berkelium - 249 with an atom of calcium - 48 to produce tennessine - 294 . Neutrons are also produced in this reaction. How many neutrons must be produced for the nuclear equation to be balanced ? 48 20Ca+ 249 97Bk>294 117Ts+
Nuclear equations must be balanced in terms of both atomic mass and atomic number. To balance the equation, you need to ensure that the total number of protons and neutrons on both sides of the equation are equal.
On the left side of the equation:
- 48 is the atomic number of calcium (protons) and has an atomic mass of 48.
- 249 is the atomic number of berkelium (protons) and has an atomic mass of 249.
So, on the left side, you have a total of 48 protons and 249 protons in calcium and berkelium, respectively.
On the right side of the equation:
- 294 is the atomic number of tennessine (protons) and has an atomic mass of 294.
To find the number of neutrons produced, subtract the sum of protons on the right side (294) from the sum of protons on the left side (48 + 249):
294 - (48 + 249) = -3
Since you cannot have a negative number of neutrons, this means that the equation is not balanced.
To balance a nuclear equation, the number of protons and neutrons on both sides of the equation must be equal.
Let's break down the equation and determine the number of neutrons produced:
Starting with the reactants:
- Calcium-48 (48Ca) has 20 protons and 28 neutrons.
- Berkelium-249 (249Bk) has 97 protons and 152 neutrons.
For the products:
- Tennessine-294 (294Ts) has 117 protons.
Now we need to determine the number of neutrons in Tennessine-294.
Neutrons can be calculated by subtracting the number of protons (117) from the mass number (294) of the element.
So, 294 - 117 = 177 neutrons.
Now, let's calculate the total number of neutrons produced:
Neutrons produced = (Number of neutrons in Calcium-48) + (Number of neutrons in Berkelium-249) - (Number of neutrons in Tennessine-294)
= 28 + 152 - 177
= 3 neutrons
Three neutrons should be produced for the nuclear equation to be balanced.
To determine the number of neutrons produced in the reaction, you need to balance the nuclear equation by ensuring that the number of protons and neutrons is conserved on each side of the equation.
Let's break down the nuclear equation:
48 20Ca + 249 97Bk → 294 117Ts + x 0n
The numbers written in subscript represent the atomic number (number of protons) of each element or isotope, and the superscript represents the mass number (sum of protons and neutrons) of each element or isotope.
On the left side of the equation, we have 48 protons from calcium and 97 protons from berkelium, giving us a total of 48 + 97 = 145 protons.
On the right side of the equation, we have 117 protons from tennessine. In order to balance the equation, the number of protons on both sides should be equal. Therefore, we should have 145 protons on the right side as well.
Since the atomic number (proton number) determines the identity of an element, we can look up the element with atomic number 145 on the periodic table. Currently, an element with atomic number 145 has not been discovered, so we denote it as "X" for now.
Now, let's determine the number of neutrons:
On the left side of the equation, we have 249 neutrons from berkelium and 48 neutrons from calcium, giving us a total of 249 + 48 = 297 neutrons.
On the right side of the equation, we have 294 neutrons from tennessine. To balance the equation, the number of neutrons on both sides should be equal. Therefore, we need 297 neutrons on the right side as well.
Hence, x (number of neutrons produced) must be x = 297.
So, to balance the nuclear equation and conserve both protons and neutrons, we would write:
48 20Ca + 249 97Bk → 294 117Ts + 297 0n