Discuss the use of radioactive tracers in medicine and industry. Indicate how the thyroid gland requires iodine for the synthesis of thyroxine, and absorbs it actively from the blood. Radioactive iodine can be used to determine the health of the gland. Nuclear fission was introduced by looking at the work of Fermi in 1934. The discovery that bombarding Uranium 235 with neutrons produced 2 fragments and the release of energy was discussed. By 1939 the fragments were shown to be bismuth and krypton, and the energy release had great potential as a weapon. The definition of fission and why the uranium atom splits due to elongation when bombarded with a neutron, was presented along with the reaction formula.

From Einsteins formula, E= MC^2, discuss how mass and energy are equivalent. Using the mass of a proton and a neutron, list the mass of 2 protons and 2 neutrons in units, then the mass of a helium nucleus containing 2 protons and 2 neutrons. Determine the difference in mass and indicate it as the mass defect. The binding energy will be the difference in energy between the assembled nucleus and the nucleons.

Write the nuclear equation for some alpha and beta decay elements, and identify the product formed. Also write an equation for an artificial transmutation of an element by bombarding with a beta particle. Discuss the half life of radioactive decay and show how it is used to determine the age of a carbon fossil.

Discuss how an atom's energy is determined by the kinetic energy of the electrons and the potential energy between the electrons and the protons. We discussed how atoms become excited by absorbing energy, moving electrons to a higher energy level, from which they will fall back to the lower more stable level and give off electromagnetic energy as frequencies of light energy. We had a discussion of the nuclear force and its effect on the protons and neutrons, and on holding the nucleus together.

We had a discussion on the relative size of atoms, relative to the atomic number. We discussed why some atoms of higher atomic number and mass have smaller radii than others. We talked about how the nuclear charge will affect the force on the electron by the proton. I showed Bobby images of hydrogen and helium atoms and we compared radii due to EM force. Discuss why in quantum physics, things are not as predictable and are more chaotic than in Newtonian physics.

We discussed the atomic structure of the atom as understood through the late 20th century. This included definitions of protons, neutrons, and electrons, along with their charges and locations. We also discussed how to write the atomic nuclear symbols, and how to determine the number of nucleons given the mass and/or the atomic number. We talked about energy levels of the electrons and the neutrality of the atom.

How Einstein used the photoelectric effect to promote his theory of light being made of particles. Discuss the term photosensitive, and explain why electrons in distant atomic orbits are not held as tightly to the nucleus, and if supplied with sufficient energy, will escape the nuclear attraction. Show that only high frequencies of light will demonstrate the effect, and that low frequencies (red and orange) regardless of the intensity, will not cause electrons to leave the metal. Show an image of Young's double slit experiment and then an image of the same diffraction pattern when a beam of electrons is used in place of a beam of light.

Correct and evaluate homework questions. Present a nuclear reaction and have the equation written and the new element found. Outline the method for writing the equation. Discuss isotopes in general and specifically the 3 isotopes of hydrogen. Determine why hydrogen 3 is radioactive and how the excess neutron will be decayed to produce a more stable isotope.

The dual theory of light, acting as a particle and/or as a wave, was presented with arguments from both sides. Einstein's theory of light particles being bundles of concentrated energy was presented. He based it on Plank's theory that atoms emit light energy, not as a continous stream but as chuncks of energy called quantum. Each quantum is composed of a photon of energy. The total energy is its kinetic energy, which is proportional to the frequency of the electromagnetic wave. The higher the frequency, the greater the kinetic energy. Einstein explained the photoelectric effect by showing that only high energy EM waves would "kick" electrons off a metal sheet and create an electric current. Only the frequency affected the effect, not the intensity.

Review of why nuclei decay. Review and discuss the main particles of nuclear decay, the alpha,beta, and gamma rays. Nuclei will decay in order to achieve more stability, and come closer to a mass of 58 amu, found in the stable element iron. Alpha particles are helium nuclei, atomic mass of 4 and atomic number 2. Discuss that when a radioactive nucleus decays by alpha emission, the new element's atomic mass decreases by 4 and the new atom's atomic number decreases by 2. A series of 5 elements which undergo alpha decay were listed and the products of the nuclear decay needed to be found, and the equations written.