Combined Topic 6 - Radiation

Question 1

What’s atomic number

Answer 1

The same number of protons and electrons in the nucleus of an atom

Question 2

What’s mass number

Answer 2

The total amount of protons and neutrons in the nucleas of an atom

Question 3

What is an isotope

Answer 3

Atoms of an element with the same number of atomic number but with a different mass number because of different amounts of neutrons

Question 4

What changes in isotope elements?

Answer 4

Only the neutrons change but the electrons and protons stay

Question 5

What is the plum pudding model?

Answer 5

It was the 1st model of an atom, it’s got a positive charge spread big and a small negative charges around of electrons. The electrons are modelled as Spheres

Question 6

What’s the atomic structure

Answer 6

Nucleus = The centre of an atom
Proton = Positive charge of an atom in the nucleus
Neutrons = Neutral charge of an atom found in the nucleus
Electron = Negative charge of an atom’s outer shell

Question 7

Why is the mass of a nucleus two?

Answer 7

Because the nuetron and proton is 1

Question 8

What’s a molecule, element and atom?

Answer 8

An atom is the smallest particle of an element

An element is made out of a specific atom

A molecule is made out of many elements (compound)

Question 9

Biggest to smallest (Molecule, element, atom, nucleus, protons and electrons)

Answer 9

1. Molecule 2. Element 3. Atom 4. Nucleus 5. Protons 6. Electrons

Question 10

What’s background radiation?

Answer 10

It’s a low level ionising radiation that is around us all the time from a number of sources

Question 11

Where can radiation come from?

Answer 11

It can be from natural resources like cosmic rays to earth, rocks and soil (radon gas), plants. Even from artificial sources like nuclear explosions

Question 12

What are the other sources of natural background radiation and what is the biggest source?

Answer 12

Food, medical ground and buildings but radon gas from rocks is the biggest

Question 13

What is Ionisation?

Answer 13

When an atom absorbs enough energy to let an electron escape

Question 14

How can at atom gain energy?

Answer 14

By heating it and electromagnetic radiation

Question 15

What is the Bohr atom model?

Answer 15

He discovered shells of an atom which can move with heat and electromagnetic radiation

Question 16

What is background radiation and beta, gamma and alpha rays measured with

Answer 16

Measured in becquerels or counts per minute

Question 17

What’s a substance that contionusly emits radiation under any condition called?

Answer 17

It’s then considered radioactive ☢️

Question 18

What are the three types of radiation

Answer 18

Beta, gamma and alpha

Question 19

What types of radiation can cause an atom/element become a different element?

Answer 19

All the 3 forms of radiation, gamma beta and alpha

Question 20

How does radon gas appear?

Answer 20

It comes from rocks such igneous rocks and granite which contain uranium and when it decays it releases radon gas

Question 21

What can the 3 forms of radiation penetrate through?

Answer 21

Alpha = Can’t penetrate paper
Beta = can’t penetrate few mm of aluminium
Gamma = can’t penetrate threw mm of lead

Question 22

How does Ionisation work on a neutral atom with radiation?

Answer 22

When radiation collides a neutral atom it alters the structure by knocking electrons. This will leave behind ions

Question 23

What can ionising radiation do?

Answer 23

It can remove/knock out electrons off an atom

Question 24

What’s the penetrating and ionising strength of the 3 forms of radiation

Answer 24

Alpha = low penetration and high ionising

Beta = medium penetration and medium ionising

Gamma = High penetrate and low ionising

Question 25

What’s the structure and charge of the 3 forms of radioactivity

Answer 25

Alpha = the structure is the element of helium and has a charge of 0

Beta = has the structure of an electron and it’s charge is negative

Alpha = The structure is an electromagnetic wave which has no charge

Question 26

What is meant by ionising radiation

Answer 26

Radiation with sufficient energy to ionise atoms by removing electrons

Question 27

What safety procedures should you take when it comes to dealing with contamination of radioactivity?

Answer 27

Wear protective clothing, goggles and a mask. Handle with tongs and within a short-time span and keep away from people

Question 28

What is iriadiation and contamination?

Answer 28

Iriadiation is when radiation passed through your body and it decays within time (X-rays)

Contamination is when it takes long or doesn’t decay and it’s left in the environment (clothes, object, hair)

Question 29

What’s half life?

Answer 29

The time it takes for radioactive particles to decay which halved in time and it’s a random process

Question 30

What’s alpha decay and it’s formula?

Answer 30

It’s a specific formula to represent nuclear reactions

²⁴¹AM - ²⁴¹-⁴ AM - ²³⁷Np + ⁴ (HELIUM)
⁹⁵ ⁹⁵-². ⁹³. ²

It’s element has changed because of the atomic number and it’s leftover is Helium (alpha structure)

Question 31

How do isotopes become stable?

Answer 31

By releasing different types of atoms/particles

Question 32

What are the elements called that go under radioactive decay?

Answer 32

They’re called radioisotopes

Question 33

What’s the beta decay and it’s formula?

Answer 33

It’s when a neutron changes into a proton or an electron

²¹⁸PO - ²¹⁸Po - ²¹⁸At + ⁰B
⁸⁴. ⁸⁴+¹. ⁸⁴+¹. -¹

We increase the atomic number by 1 and leave the mass number and we’re left with a beta ray

Question 34

Why do neutrons change into a proton or electron?

Answer 34

It’s because it’s trying to become balanced so it transfers

Question 35

What is the purpose of the beta decay?

Answer 35

We use it when an atoms neutron converts into something else and it’s unstable so we use it to stable it

Question 36

Geiger Muller tube core practical

Answer 36

First the teacher has to go through safety procedures such as gloves, goggles and a suit. Then we check the count-rate of the background radiation, we use one of the radioactive rocks and put it near the tube counting the amount of time and measuring the distance, once that’s done you do the exact same to the other radioactive rock and you subtract the background radiation from both and estimate your results at the end