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Physics AQA A-Level > 3.2 Particles and Radiation > Flashcards

3.2 Particles and Radiation Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the basics structure of an atom?

A

Small nucleus with protons and neutrons, electrons orbiting nucleus

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2
Q

Charge of proton / electron?

A

1.6x10^-19 C/ -1.6x10^-19 C

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3
Q

relative mass of electron?

A

0.0005

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4
Q

What does A represent?

A

nucleon number

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5
Q

What does Z represent?

A

proton number

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6
Q

What is an isotope?

A

Same number of protons (same element) but diff number of neutrons

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7
Q

What can isotopes be used for?

A

carbon dating, medicine

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8
Q

What is carbon dating?

A

All living things have the same ratio of carbon14 to carbon12
When an organism dies, the (radioactive) carbon14 decreases
Physicists use the percentage of carbon14 left and compare it with isotopic data to calculate the age

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9
Q

What are the four fundamental forces?

A

gravity, electrostatic, strong nuclear, weak nuclear

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10
Q

where is the strong force repulsive?

A

below 0.5fm (to stop the nucleus from collapsing in on itself)

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11
Q

Where is the strong nuclear force attractive?

A

between 0.5-3 fm; negligible up to 5fm when overtaken by electrostatic force

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12
Q

What is a beta-minus particle?

A

a fast-moving electron emitted by radioactive decays

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13
Q

What very small particle is emitted in beta-decay?

A

a neutrino

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14
Q

What is the same/ different for particles and their corresponding anti-particles?

A

same mass, opposite charge

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15
Q

EM radiation is made of WHICH particles of light with WHAT energy (equation)?

A

Photons
E=hf

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16
Q

What is annihilation?

A

When a particle and its anti-particle meet and all the mass gets converted into energy in the form of two gamma photons

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17
Q

What is pair production?

A

A photon turns into a particle-antiparticle pair. The energy gets converted unto mass: the minimum energy for the photon to do this must be at least the total rest mass of the two particles produced.

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18
Q

What does the electromagnetic force affect and what is the exchange particle?

A

all charged particles / virtual photons

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19
Q

What does the weak nuclear force affect and what are the exchange particles?

A

all particles / W+, W- bosons

20
Q

What does gravity affect and what are the exchange particles?

A

all particles / graviton

21
Q

What direction is time in Feynman diagrams?

A

up

22
Q

Describe the electromagnetic repulsion Feynman diagram

A

two electrons in, two electrons out, virtual photon between them

23
Q

Describe the Feynman diagram for beta plus decay

A

proton turns to a neutron, positron, and electron neutrino; has a W+ boson in between neutron and other two products

24
Q

Describe the Feynman diagram for beta minus decay

A

neutron turns to a proton, electron, and anti-electron neutrino; W- boson between proton and other two products

25
Q

Describe the Feynman diagram for electron capture

A

proton and electron in, W+ boson between (electron direction), neutron and electron neutrino out

26
Q

What are the two types of hadrons

A

baryons and mesons

27
Q

Which particles does the strong nuclear force affect and what is the exchange particle/

A

hadrons / pions + gluons

28
Q

leptons do not interact with which force?

A

the strong nuclear force

29
Q

what are the four leptons?

A

electrons, muons, electron neutrino, muon neutrino

30
Q

What class of particles do quarks make up?

A

hadrons - baryons and mesons

31
Q

what is the quark composition of a proton?

A

up, up, down

32
Q

what is the quark composition of a neutron?

A

up, down, down

33
Q

what is the quark composition of an antineutron?

A

anti-down, anti-down, anti-up

34
Q

what is the quark composition of an antiproton?

A

anti-up, anti-up, anti-down

35
Q

what is the strangeness of a strange quark?

A

-1

36
Q

what is the strangeness of an anti-strange quark?

A

1

37
Q

What is the weak nuclear force responsible for?

A

decay

38
Q

What is the process of carbon dating?

A

All living organisms start with the same percentage of carbon-14 from the atmosphere. Once an organism dies, it stops absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. Carbon-14 is radioactive and so will decay over a known half-life, so the older a fossil is, the smaller the percentage of carbon-14 isotopes it will contain, and the less radiation it will emit.

39
Q

Why may carbon dating not be reliable in the future?

A

Due to burning fossil fuels and open-air bomb testing, the ratio of different carbon isotopes will be altered (human activity)

40
Q

what are the uses of carbon dating?

A

finding the age of different fossils
information on the changes in climate

41
Q

What are the three different hydrogen isotopes?

A

PROTIUM - 1 proton, 99.98% of Hydrogen atoms, used in Hydrogen fuel cells and plastic production
DEUTERIUM - 1 proton+1 neutron, used in nuclear fusion
TRITIUM - 1 proton+2 neutrons, used is thermonuclear fusion weapons

42
Q

Describe alpha decay

A

2protons+2 neutrons released, for very large nuclei, proton number = -2, nucleon number = -4

43
Q

how was the (anti)neutrino theorised?

A

The energy before beta-minus decay was larger than after, so energy was not conserved, the hypothesised the antineutrino which had negligible mass + 0 charge which carries away this ‘missing’ energy

44
Q

Which processes use information of isotopes?

A

carbon dating
nuclear fission
molecule labelling

45
Q

What is the rule for mass/ energy in pair production?

A

the energy of the photon must be at least equal to the rest mass of the particle-antiparticle pair created

46
Q

which waves have the highest/ lowest frequencies?

A

gamma has highest frequency + energy
radio has the lowest frequency + energy

Physics AQA A-Level (15 decks)

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