4 Atomic Structure Flashcards
Protons have a charge of what?
+1
Electrons have what charge?
-1
Atoms have equal numbers of electrons and protons so…
…they have no overall electrical charge.
What part of the atom contains most of the mass?
Nucleus
What does the atomic number tell you?
The number of protons
What is an isotope?
Atoms of an element with the same number of protons and electrons but different numbers of neutrons.
Some atomic nuclei are ________ and give out _________ in order to become __.
1) unstable
2) radiation
3) more stable
What is meant by the acitivity of a radioactive source?
The rate at which it decays.
What is activity measured in and what is it equal to?
becquerels Bq
1Bq = 1 decay per second = 1 count per second
What is the count rate?
The number of decays recorded each second by a detector (e.g. geiger-Muller tube).
What are the three main types of nuclear radiation and their symbols?
- Alpha α
- Beta β
- Gamma γ
Alpha (4)
- 2 neutrons and 2 protons 🄷
- Ejected from nucleus
- Strong ionising power
- Goes through 📄
Beta (4)
- High speed electron
- Ejected from nucleus
- Reasonable ionising power
- Goes through📄, but is absorbed by few mm of 🄰🄻
Gamma (5)
ᵂʰᵃᵗ ⁱˢ ⁱᵗ? ᶜᵒᵐᵉˢ ᶠʳᵒᵐ? ᴵᵒⁿⁱˢⁱⁿᵍ ᵖᵒʷᵉʳ, ᵂʰᵃᵗ ᶜᵃⁿ ⁱᵗ ᵈᵒ?
- Electromagnetic radiation
- Emitted from nucleus
- Poor ionising power
- Very penetrating
- Absorbed by many cm of 🄿🄱
What is radioactive contamination?
The unwanted presence of materials containing radioactive atoms on other materials.
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘴.
