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4PHD GCSE Physics GBC > 08 Radioactivity and Particles > Flashcards

08 Radioactivity and Particles Flashcards

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1
Q

Name the three types of radioactive particles?

A

alpha, beta, gamma

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2
Q

Describe an alpha particle

A

It is a helium nucleus

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3
Q

Describe a beta particle

A

It is a high speed electron

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4
Q

Describe gamma radiation

A

EM wave

travels at the speed of light

No charge or mass

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5
Q

Name the subatomic particles in an atom

A

proton

neutron

electron

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6
Q

What are the relative masses of the proton, neutron and electron?

A

proton = 1

neutron = 1

electron = 0

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7
Q

Define the atomic number

A

number of protons in an atom

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8
Q

Define the mass number

A

Number of protons + neutrons in an atom

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9
Q

What is another name for the mass number?

A

nucleon number

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10
Q

What are the relative charges of the proton, neutron and electron?

A

proton = +1

neutron = 0

electron = -1

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11
Q

Where are the electrons found in an atom?

A

In shells in the space around the nucleus

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12
Q

Where are the protons and neutrons found in the atom?

A

in the nucleus

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13
Q

atoms are neutral, so what is true about the number of protons and electrons?

A

number of protons = number of electrons

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14
Q

What is an isotope?

A

Atoms of the same element with same number of protons but different number of neutrons.

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15
Q

Two common isotopes of carbon are C-12 and C-14

(Carbon has an atomic number of 6)

Name one similarity and two differences about these isotopes?

A

They both have 6 protons

C-14 has 8 neutrons but C-12 only has 6 neutrons.

C-14 is an unstable isotope of carbon and C-12 is a stable isotope

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16
Q

What is another name for an unstable isotope?

A

radioisotope or radioactive isotope

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17
Q

Why does an unstable isotope break down?

A

An unstable isotope has too many or too few neutrons in the nucleus which makes it emit alpha, beta, neutron or gamma radiation

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18
Q

Name four types of radiation

A

alpha

beta

neutrons

gamma

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19
Q

Radioactive isotopes decay spontaneously.

What does this mean?

A

It means that you can’t say when any one of them is going to decay and you can’t do anything to at all to make a decay happen. It is a random process.

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20
Q

Which type of radiation occurs without changing the radioisotope into a new element?

A

gamma

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21
Q

Name the three types of radiation which will change a radioisotope into a new element.

A

alpha

beta

neutrons

22
Q

There is low level background radiation all around us all the time. It comes from….

A
    1. Rocks, soil, buildings and food (from Earth)
    1. cosmic rays from space
    1. living things
    1. radiation due to human acitvity - nuclear waste, nuclear fall-out
23
Q

Nuclear radiation causes ionisation. What is ionisation?

A

When radiation bashes into atoms, knocking electrons from them.

These atoms are turned into ions which are charged

24
Q

How can we detect ionising radiation?

A

Geiger-Muller tube - GM tube OR photographic film

25
Q

Radiation is less penetrating if it is….

A

more highly charged

more massive

slower moving

26
Q

Radiation is more penetrating if it is….

A

less charged

less massive

faster moving

27
Q

Radiation is more ionising if it is….

A

more highly charged

more massive

slower moving

28
Q

Radiation is less ionising if it is….

A

less charged

less massive

faster moving

29
Q

Radiation is more penetrating if it is _________ ionising

A

less ionising

30
Q

Radiation is less penetrating if it is ____________ ionising

A

more ionising

31
Q

I am a radioactive particle.

I am big, heavy and slow-moving.

What am I?

A

An alpha particle

32
Q

I am a radioactive particle

I am small, light and fast moving

What am I?

A

I am a beta particle

33
Q

I am a type of radiation

I have no mass or charge and I travel at the speed of light.

What am I?

A

gamma radiation

34
Q

Place alpha, beta and gamma in order of penetration from least to highly.

A

alpha < beta < gamma

35
Q

Why are alpha particles strongly ionising?

A

They are highly charged (+2), massive and move slowly

36
Q

Which radiation can be deflected by a magnetic field?

A

only alpha and beta as they are both charged

Gamma is not charged- therefore not deflected in a magnetic field

37
Q

What happens to the atomic number and mass number of a radioactive isotope when they release an alpha particle?

A

atomic number goes down by 2

mass number goes down by 4

38
Q

Different radiations can penetrate by different amounts

You can identify the type of radiation by its penetrating power.

Alpha particles are blocked by…

A

paper, skin or a few cm of air

39
Q

Different radiations can penetrate by different amounts

You can identify the type of radiation by its penetrating power.

Beta particles are blocked by…

A

thin metal (5mm of aluminium) or 30 cm of air

40
Q

Different radiations can penetrate by different amounts

You can identify the type of radiation by its penetrating power.

Gamma particles are blocked by…

A

thick lead or very thick concrete

41
Q

Gamma emission always happens after beta or alpha decay. Explain why

A

You never just get gamma emission

Gamma waves are emitted from a nucleus after it has decayed and is still in an ‘excited state’

42
Q

Gamma rays are weakly ionising because they tend to pass through rather than collide with atoms. But eventually they hit something and do damage.

Why do gamma rays behave this way?

A

They have no charge, no mass and move at the speed of light.

43
Q

Why are alpha particled deflected by a magnetic field?

A

They are charged (+2)

44
Q

A geiger-Muller tube gives a count rate. What is count rate?

A

The number of radioactive particles reaching the counter per second

45
Q

Why is the count rate different from the overall activity of a radioactive sample?

A

The count rate is the number of particles reaching the GM tube per second NOT the total number of radioactive particles the sample emits per second.

46
Q

Radioactive sources can be dangerous if you don’t use them properly.

Describe three safety procedures

A
  1. keep radioactive sources in a lead lined box when not in use
  2. Pick up radioactive sources using long-handled tongs
  3. Do not point radioactive sources at anyone- keep a safe distance from them.
47
Q

A teacher carried out an investigation to work out which radiation was emitted from a radioactive rock found near their school.

What equipment will they need?

A
  • GM tube and counter
  • paper
  • 5 mm of aluminium
  • thick lead
  • ruler
  • stopwatch
48
Q

A teacher carried out an investigation to work out which radiation was emitted from a radioactive rock found near their school.

They need to find the background count first. Explain how this is done.

A
  • Remove any sources and return them to their lead cases.
  • Measure the background count for 2 minutes
  • Repeat this three times
  • Calculate the mean background count
  • Count rate = mean count/ 120 seconds
49
Q

What is true about a balanced nuclear equation?

A

Overall charge (proton number) and mass (mass number) have to be the same on both sides of the equation.

50
Q

Write the balanced equation for the beta decay of carbon-14

The atomic number of carbon is 6

A
51
Q

What is the mass number and proton number of an alpha particle?

A

4PHD GCSE Physics GBC (9 decks)

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