chemistry

Isotopes of strontium

Isotopes of strontium is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Isotopes of strontium rather than just read about it. In short: The alkaline earth metal strontium (38Sr) has four stable, naturally occurring isotopes: 84Sr (0.56%), 86Sr (9.86%), 87Sr (7.0%) and 88Sr (82.58%), giving it a standard atomic weight of 87.62. Only 87Sr is radiogenic; it is produced by decay from the radioactive alkali metal 87Rb, which has a half-life of 4.97 × 1010 years (i.e. more than three times longer than the current age of the universe).

Key takeaways

Isotopes of strontium belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Isotopes of strontium to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Isotopes of strontium from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The alkaline earth metal strontium (38Sr) has four stable, naturally occurring isotopes: 84Sr (0.56%), 86Sr (9.86%), 87Sr (7.0%) and 88Sr (82.58%), giving it a standard atomic weight of 87.62. Only 87Sr is radiogenic; it is produced by decay from the radioactive alkali metal 87Rb, which has a half-life of 4.97 × 1010 years (i.e. more than three times longer than the current age of the universe). Thus, there are two sources of 87Sr in any material: primordial, formed during nucleosynthesis along with 84Sr, 86Sr and 88Sr; and that formed by radioactive decay of 87Rb. The ratio 87Sr/86Sr is the parameter typically reported in geologic investigations; ratios in minerals and rocks have values ranging from about 0.7 to greater than 4.0 (see rubidium–strontium dating). Because strontium has an electron configuration similar to that of calcium, it readily substitutes for calcium in minerals. In addition to the four stable isotopes, thirty-two unstable isotopes of strontium are known to exist, ranging from 73Sr to 108Sr. Radioactive isotopes of strontium primarily decay into the neighbouring elements yttrium (89Sr and heavier isotopes, via beta minus decay) and rubidium (85Sr, 83Sr and lighter isotopes, via positron emission or electron capture). The longest-lived of these isotopes, are 90Sr with a half-life of 28.91 years, 85Sr at 64.846 days, 89Sr at 50.56 days, and 82Sr at 25.35 days. All other strontium isotopes have half-lives shorter than 10 hours, most under 10 minutes. Strontium-89 is an artificial radioisotope used in treatment of bone cancer; this application utilizes its chemical similarity to calcium, which allows it to substitute calcium in bone structures. In circumstances where cancer patients have widespread and painful bony metastases, the administration of 89Sr results in the delivery of beta particles directly to the cancerous portions of the bone, where calcium turnover is greatest. Strontium-90 is a by-product of nuclear fission, present in nuclear fallout. The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident contaminated a vast area with 90Sr. It causes health problems, as it substitutes for calcium in bone, giving it a long lifetime in the body. Because it is a long-lived high-energy beta emitter, it is used in SNAP (Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power) devices. These devices hold promise for use in spacecraft, remote weather stations, navigational buoys, etc., where a lightweight, long-lived, nuclear-electric power source is required. In 2020, researchers have found that mirror nuclides 73Sr and 73Br were found to not behave identically to each other as expected.

List of isotopes

See also Daughter products other than strontium

Isotopes of yttrium Isotopes of rubidium Isotopes of krypton

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Isotopes of strontium

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Isotopes of strontium claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Isotopes of strontium before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Isotopes of strontium ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Isotopes of strontium

In research: Isotopes of strontium appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Isotopes of strontium in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Isotopes of strontium is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Isotopes of strontium, Lists of isotopes by element, Strontium, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Isotopes of strontium outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Isotopes of strontium in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Isotopes of strontium means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Isotopes of strontium in simple terms?

Why does Isotopes of strontium matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Isotopes of strontium?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Isotopes of strontium.