decay

Question 1

what is beta radiation

Answer 1

a fast moving electron
Or positron

Question 2

what is released during beta plus decay

Answer 2

u→ d + positron + v (neutrino)

Question 3

what is released during beta minus decay

Answer 3

d→ u + electron + v- (antineutrino)

Question 4

If an atom has a very large isotope, what will happen to the stability

Answer 4

it will be more unstable

Question 5

what is released during alpha decay

Answer 5

helium4,2
2 protons and 2 neutrons.

Question 6

what are qualities of alpha particles

Answer 6

low penetration, stopped by paper
high ionising

Question 7

what can we use alpha particles for

Answer 7

smoke detectors, alpha particles are blocked by smoke

Question 8

if a heavy nuclei were to break down, what type of decay would most likely happen

Answer 8

alpha decay, is more common in larger atoms

Question 9

if a lighter nuclei were to decay, what type of decay would occur

Answer 9

beta

Question 10

if beta decay happens, what happens to the atomic number of the new nuclei

Answer 10

it goes up by 1, we add a proton and taken away a neutron, as mass has to stay constant. A neutron turns into a proton.

Question 11

what are qualities of beta decay

Answer 11

medium, ionising and penetration

Question 12

What is a use of beta decay

Answer 12

paper mill, measuring the thickness of paper.

Question 13

how is the mass number of the atom effected by beta decay

Answer 13

it isnt, stays the same

Question 14

what is gamma radiation.

Answer 14

a high energy and frequency em wave.
low ionising and high penetrating

Question 15

uses of gamma and protections

Answer 15

radio therapy
lead concrete
used as medical tracer

Question 16

how does gamma effect a nuclei

Answer 16

gamma radiation gets rid of spare energy

Question 17

define “decay constant”

Answer 17

the probability of a nucleus decaying in the next second

Question 18

define high radioactivity and also its unit

Answer 18

lots of decays per second (Bq) becquerel

Question 19

what is half life

Answer 19

the amount of time it takes for a materials nuclei to decay.

Question 20

what is the relationship between activity and un-decayed nucleus

Answer 20

both proportional, the more nuclei, the more activity.

Question 21

how is activity related to , decay constant and un-decayed nuclei

Answer 21

A=-λN, each decay reduces the number of nuclei so we add a negative.

Question 22

what equation do we use to et the exponential of -λt

Answer 22

n/nº

Question 23

what does annihilation mean

Answer 23

is the process in which a particle and its antiparticle interact and their combined mass is converted to energy via E=mc^2

Question 24

what is Pair production

Answer 24

is the process of creating a particle-antiparticle pair from a high energy electron

Question 25

what is mass defect

Answer 25

is the difference in mass between the mass of a nucleus and the total mass of its separate nucleons

Question 26

what is binding energy

Answer 26

the minimum energy required to separate the nucleons into its constituent parts.

Question 27

what happens to a particles mass as it increases its speed

Answer 27

the mass increases, E=mc^2

Question 28

A=N_

Answer 28

lamda, (decay constant)
how many nuclei are decaying per second (s^-1)

Question 29

what is a moderator

Answer 29

a substance used in a nuclear reactor to slow down neutrons so that they have a greater chance of being absorbed by the fissile nuclear fuel

Question 30

what are control rods

Answer 30

is a rod that can be lowered into the core of a nuclear reactor, and absorbs neutrons and slows down chain reactions. usually made of boron.

Question 31

what is induced fission

Answer 31

occurs when a nucleus absorbs slow moving neutrons and the resulting unstable nucleus undergoes a fission reaction.

Question 32

what is a chain reaction

Answer 32

is the sequence of nuclear reactions produced when an induced nuclear fission reaction triggers more than one further fission reaction.