Atoms Flashcards
What happens when a positively charged particle comes near another atom??
It can pull electrons off the atoms.
This slows the alpha particle down.
What can radiation do to cells??
It ionises cells which causes cellular damage.
What is ionisation ?
When a neutral atom loses or gains electrons and hence change.
What’s different to atoms of a radioactive substance ? And how does it undo this?
It’s nucleus is unstable.
It becomes stable by emitting alpha, beta or gamma radiation.
What do we say an u stable nucleus does when it comes emits radiation?
It decays.
When does an unstable nucleus decay?
We can’t tell when an unstable nucleus will decay as it is a rare event that happens without anything being done to the nucleus.
What are radio isotopes and what do they do?
They are radioactive and they decay at random.
What are isotopes?
Same element with the same number of protons by different number of neutrons.
What happens if an atom have too many protons or neutrons?
It becomes unstable
