Ionising radiation Flashcards
What are alpha particles? Describe them
Helium Nuclei - 2 neutrons and 2 protons
They are big, heavy and slow moving therefore they don’t penetrate very far into materials and are stopped quickly even in air
Alpha particles, because of their size, are [ ] ionising, which means they bash into a lot of atoms and knock [ ] off them, which creates a lot of [ ]
strongly
electrons
ions
What are Beta particles? Describe them
They are electrons
They move quite fast and they are quite small
They penetrate moderately into materials before colliding, have a long range in air, and are moderately ionising
What’s the symbol for beta, alpha and gamma?
beta β, alpha α and gamma γ
For every beta particle emitted, a [ ] turns to a [ ] in the nucleus
neutron
proton
What are Gamma rays? Describe them
They penetrate far into materials and pass straight through air. Weakly ionising - they tend to pass through rather than collide with atoms. Eventually they hit something and do damage
No mass and no charge
Equations - alpha
How do you work out what element is produced when alpha decay takes place?
Original element’s atomic number - 2(2 protons in alpha) = new element
Original element’s mass number - 4 (4 protons + neutrons altogether in alpha) = new element’s mass number
Equations - beta
How do you work out what element is produced when beta decay takes place?
Original element’s atomic number + 1(1 electron in beta) = new element
Alpha particles have a [ ] charge and beta particles have a [ ] charge
Positive
Negative
What happens when Alpha or Beta particles travel through a magnetic/electric field?
They deflect, in opposite directions because of their opposite charge.
Alpha particles have a [ ] charge than Beta particles and feel a [ ] force in magnetic/electric fields. But they’re deflected [ ] because they have a much greater [ ]
larger
greater
less
mass
Gamma radiation is an [ ] and has no charge, so it [ ] get deflected bymagnetic/electric fields
electromagnetic wave
doesn’t
