Lesson Plan: Neutron Emission Physics
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to describe the process of unstable atoms decaying to a lower energy state by emitting neutrons.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- recall by how much the atomic number, the mass number, and the relative charge of a nucleus change when it undergoes neutron emission,
- solve nuclear equations involving neutron emission,
- interpret nuclear decay graphs showing neutron emission,
- recall that neutron radiation is far more dangerous than alpha radiation and beta radiation as neutron radiation can actually make substances radioactive and neutrons, being uncharged, can pass through materials much more easily.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- the basic structure of atoms.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- proton emission,
- the nuclear shell model,
- the reaction cross section,
- the cluster decay.