Chemical Bonds and Nuclear Reactions
When an atom's valence shell is full, it is unlikely to react and form chemical bonds. The valence shell is the outermost shell of an atom that contains its valence electrons. These valence electrons are involved in chemical bonding with other atoms. If the valence shell is already full with the maximum number of electrons it can hold, the atom will be stable and less likely to form chemical bonds.
The order of types of nuclear radiation from lowest to highest energy is alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays. Alpha particles are the least penetrating and have the lowest energy, while gamma rays are the most penetrating and have the highest energy among the three types of radiation.
While fusion involves the combination of two smaller atoms into a larger atom, fission involves the splitting of an atom into smaller atoms. Both processes release large amounts of energy, contrary to the false statement that they release very little amounts of energy.
The naturally occurring radioisotope used as fuel for a nuclear reactor is uranium-235. Uranium-235 undergoes fission, releasing a large amount of energy that is used to generate electricity in nuclear power plants.
In the formula MgO for magnesium oxide, Mg is known as the metal because it is the cation in the ionic compound. In binary ionic compounds, the cation (metal) is always listed first in the formula, followed by the anion (non-metal).
The number 19 in the block for the element potassium on the periodic table represents its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. The number 39.098 represents the average atomic mass of potassium, which takes into account the abundance of its isotopes in nature.