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What does the Nuclear Chemistry and Radioactivity revision sheet cover?

Inside the Nucleus, Classifying Nuclides by Composition, Even-Odd Rule and the N/Z Stability Belt, Magic Numbers and Nuclear Potential, Mass Defect and Binding Energy, Worked: binding energy per nucleon of oxygen-16, Reading the Binding-Energy Curve, Radioactive Decay: the Rate Law, The Decay Law, number of undecayed nuclei remaining at time t, the same relation, in base-10 logs, the form used to find λ from data, Worked: half-life from an activity drop.

Is this for Class 11 Maharashtra HSC Chemistry?

Yes, it is written for the Maharashtra HSC Chemistry syllabus.

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Nuclear Chemistry and Radioactivity — Class 11 Maharashtra HSC Chemistry revision notes

A 6-page visual revision sheet for Nuclear Chemistry and Radioactivity, written for Class 11 Maharashtra HSC Chemistry. Formulas, diagrams and the traps that cost marks, laid out to be read the night before rather than the term before. Free, and it opens inside CapCompass.

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Nuclear Chemistry and Radioactivity in one look

what holds a nucleus together, what makes some fall apart, and how fast they do it

Inside the Nucleus

a nucleus is written ^A_ZX: Z is proton count, A is protons+neutrons, N=A-Z
the nucleus is tiny: radius ~10^-15 m vs the atom's ~10^-10 m, a factor of 10^5
picture the atom as a football stadium: the nucleus is a pea at the centre spot
nuclear radius: R=R_0A^1/3 (R_0=1.33×10^-15 m), so nuclear VOLUME is proportional to A
an electron weighs only 1/1837 of a proton, so the nucleus holds nearly the whole atomic mass
packed into that tiny volume, nuclear density runs ~10^15 times ordinary matter

Classifying Nuclides by Composition

isotopes: SAME Z, different N (and A), e.g. ^22_11Na, ^23_11Na, ^24_11Na
isobars: SAME A, different Z and N, e.g. ^14_6C and ^14_7N
isotones: SAME N, different Z and A, e.g. ^13_6C and ^14_7N, both N=7
mirror nuclei: isobars whose p and n counts differ by exactly 1, simply swapped
e.g. ^3_1H (N=2) and ^3_2He (N=1)
nuclear isomers: same Z AND N (same A), differing only in ENERGY state
the higher-energy one is metastable, marked 'm', e.g. ^60mCo next to ^60Co

Even-Odd Rule and the N/Z Stability Belt

of stable nuclides, 165 have even Z and even N (~85% of the earth's crust)
only 4 have odd Z AND odd N (~2%): even-even pairing is the most stable arrangement
protons pair with protons, neutrons with neutrons (no p-n pairing bonus)
so odd-Z/even-N and even-Z/odd-N counts (55, 50) come out nearly equal
plotting N against Z for every stable nuclide traces a narrow STABILITY BELT
nuclides falling outside that belt are radioactive
for light nuclei (below ^40_20Ca) the belt tracks N=Z, N/Z≈1
for heavier nuclei it curves upward: more neutrons space out the repelling protons

Magic Numbers and Nuclear Potential

nuclei with 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, 126 p or n are 'magic', unusually stable
e.g. ^208_82Pb is doubly magic: 82 protons AND 126 neutrons
protons sit ~10^-15 m apart: coulombic repulsion alone would blow the nucleus apart
a short-range NUCLEAR force between every nucleon pair (charge-independent) overpowers that repulsion
this net attraction is the nuclear potential, which binding energy measures the strength of

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What this Nuclear Chemistry and Radioactivity sheet covers

Inside the Nucleus
Classifying Nuclides by Composition
Even-Odd Rule and the N/Z Stability Belt
Magic Numbers and Nuclear Potential
Mass Defect and Binding Energy
Worked: binding energy per nucleon of oxygen-16
Reading the Binding-Energy Curve
Radioactive Decay: the Rate Law
The Decay Law
number of undecayed nuclei remaining at time t
the same relation, in base-10 logs, the form used to find λ from data
Worked: half-life from an activity drop
Half-Life: What It Means
Worked: percentage remaining after a given time
Units of Radioactivity
Modes of Decay: Alpha, Beta, Gamma
Worked: counting alpha and beta particles in a decay chain
Chemical Reactions vs Nuclear Reactions
Chemical
Nuclear
Transmutation and Artificial Radioactivity
Nuclear Fission
Nuclear Fusion
Radiocarbon Dating
The Nuclear Reactor
Applications in Medicine
Traps that cost marks
Tricks that save time

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