Radioactivity and Background Radiation

Question 1

What are isotopes? What happens to their atomic/mass number?

Answer 1

atoms with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons
therefore same atomic number, different mass number

Question 2

Give 2 examples of Carbon isotopes

Answer 2

Carbon-12

Carbon-14

Question 3

What happens if an atom/isotope is radioactive?

Answer 3

They decay into other elements and give out radiation

Question 4

Radioactivity is affected/unaffected by physical conditions or chemical bonding etc.

Answer 4

unaffected

Question 5

Radioactivity is a totally [ ] process

Answer 5

Random

Question 6

Radioactivity comes from unstable isotopes, name some common things that give out radiation (4)

Answer 6

Air, food, building materials, rocks

Question 7

Radiation from space, called [ ], come mostly from the [ ]

Answer 7

Cosmic rays

Sun

Question 8

Name 3 ways of getting man-made radiation

Answer 8

fallout from nuclear weapons tests
nuclear accidents
dumped nuclear waste