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Physics Paper 1 > Topic 4 Atomic Structure > Flashcards

Topic 4 Atomic Structure Flashcards

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1
Q

What can electrons do if they gain energy by absorbing EM radiation?

A

Move to higher energy level- further from nucleus

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2
Q

What can electrons do if they emit/release EM radiation?

A

Move to lower energy level- closer to nucleus

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3
Q

What does EM radiation stand for?

A

Electromagnetic

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4
Q

What is radioactive decay?

A

Unstable nuclei decay to become more stable, emitting radiation in process

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5
Q

What is ionising radiation?

A

Knocks electrons off atoms, creating positive ions

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6
Q

What are the 4 things a nucleus can emit in radioactive decay?

A

Alpha particle
Beta particle
Gamma ray
Neutron

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7
Q

What is alpha radiation?

A

alpha particle emitted from nucleus

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8
Q

What is an alpha particle?

A

2 neutrons and 2 protons (same as helium nucleus)

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9
Q

What is the ionising power of alpha particles?

A

Strongly ionising

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10
Q

What is the penetrating power of alpha particles?

A

Absorbed by skin/paper

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11
Q

How far can alpha particles travel in air?

A

< 5cm

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12
Q

What is the symbol for an alpha particle?

A

a

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13
Q

What is a beta particle?

A

Fast moving electron released by nucleus

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14
Q

What is the ionising power of a beta particle?

A

Moderately ionising

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15
Q

What happens every time a beta particle is emitted from a nucleus?

A

Neutron turns into proton

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16
Q

What is the penetrating power of a beta particle?

A

Absorbed by 3mm aluminium foil

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17
Q

How far can beta particles travel in air?

A

Metre/a few metres

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18
Q

What is a gamma ray?

A

Wave of electromagnetic radiation emitted from nucleus

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19
Q

What is the ionising power of a gamma ray?

A

weakly ionising (pass through rather the collide with atoms)

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20
Q

What is the penetrating power of a gamma ray?

A

Absorbed by lead/concrete

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21
Q

How far can a gamma ray travel in air?

A

> kilometre

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22
Q

What are nuclear equations used to represent?

A

Radioactive decay

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23
Q

What form are nuclear equations written in?

A

Atom before decay > atom after decay + radiation emitted

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24
Q

What is the symbol for a gamma ray?

A

y

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25
Q

What is the symbol for a beta particle?

A

B

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26
Q

What 2 things happen when an atom emits an alpha particle?

A

Atomic number reduces by 2
Mass number reduces by 4

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27
Q

What does alpha decay cause the mass and the charge of a nucleus to do?

A

Decrease

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28
Q

How is an alpha particle written in nuclear equations?

A

As a helium nucleus

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29
Q

What happens to the number of protons in the nucleus when beta decay occurs?

A

Increases by 1

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30
Q

What happens to the charge of the nucleus when beta decay occurs?

A

Increases-

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31
Q

Why does the mass of the nucleus not change when beta decay occurs?

A

Neutron lost but proton gained- same mass

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32
Q

How is a beta particle written in nuclear equations?

A

As an electron

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33
Q

What happens to the atomic number when beta decay occurs?

A

Increases by 1 (proton gained)

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34
Q

What happens to the charge and mass of the nucleus when a gamma ray is emitted?

A

No change

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35
Q

What type of process is radioactive decay?

A

Random

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36
Q

What is count-rate?

A

Number of decays recorded each second by a detector

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37
Q

What is the name of the detector that records count-rate?

A

Geiger-Muller tube

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38
Q

What is activity?

A

Rate at which source of unstable nuclei decays

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39
Q

What is activity measured in?

A

Becquerels Bq

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40
Q

What is background radiation?

A

Low-level radiation around us all the time

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41
Q

What are 2 things background radiation comes from?

A

Natural resources
Man-made sources

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42
Q

What are 2 examples of natural resources that are sources of background radiation?

A

Cosmic rays from space
Rocks

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43
Q

What are 2 examples of manmade sources of background radiation?

A

Fallout from nuclear weapons testing
Nuclear accidents

44
Q

What does radiation dose tell you?

A

Risk of harm to body tissues due to radiation exposure

45
Q

What is radiation dose measured in?

A

Sieverts (Sv)

46
Q

What 2 things does the level of background radiation and your radiation dose depend on?

A

Occupation and location

47
Q

What is irradiation?

A

Exposing an object to nuclear radiation

48
Q

What does irradiating something not do?

A

Make it radioactive

49
Q

What are 2 ways of reducing the effects of irradiation?

A

Keeping sources in lead-lined boxes
Standing behind barriers

50
Q

What is radioactive contamination?

A

Unwanted material containing radioactive atoms on other materials

51
Q

Why is contamination harmful/hazardous?

A

Contaminating atoms decay, releasing radiation

52
Q

What are 3 ways of protecting against contamination?

A

Gloves
Using tongs
Wear protective suits

53
Q

How does wearing a protective suit prevent contamination?

A

Prevents breathing in particles

54
Q

How does using gloves and tongs prevent contamination?

A

Avoids particles getting stuck to skin/under nails

55
Q

What does the level of hazard/harm of contamination or irradiation depend on?

A

Type of radiation emitted

56
Q

Which 2 radiation sources are most dangerous outside the body (irradiation)?

A

Beta and gamma

57
Q

Why are beta and gamma the most dangerous outside the body?

A

Penetrate body and get to delicate organs

58
Q

Why is alpha less dangerous outside of the body?

A

Can’t penetrate skin and easily blocked

59
Q

When is irradiation dangerous from all sources?

A

High levels

60
Q

Which type of radiation is most dangerous inside the body (contamination)?

A

Alpha

61
Q

Why is alpha the most dangerous inside the body?

A

Most ionising, causes damage in very localised area

62
Q

Why is it so important that research into the effects of radiation on humans is published and peer-reviewed?

A

Become quickly accepted, improve our use of radioactive sources

63
Q

What is the risk of radiation entering living cells?

A

Ionise atoms/molecules within cells- tissue damage

64
Q

What is risk of lower doses of radiation?

A

Cause minor damage without killing cells, lead to cancer (mutant cells divide uncontrollably)

65
Q

What is the risk of higher doses of radiation?

A

Kill cells completely, causes radiation sickness

66
Q

What are 3 symptoms of radiation sickness?

A

Vomiting
Tiredness
Hair loss

67
Q

What 2 things are nuclear radiations used in medicine for?

A

Exploration of internal organs
Destroying unwanted tissue (treating cancer)

68
Q

How can internal organs be explored using a tracer?

A

Radioactive isotopes injected/swallowed, their progress around body followed using external detector

69
Q

What is treating cancers using ionising radiation known as?

A

Radiotherapy

70
Q

Why can high doses of ionising radiation be used to treat cancers?

A

Kill all living cells

71
Q

How are gamma rays used to treat cancer?

A

Directed into body and kill cancer cells

72
Q

What are the 2 ways of treating cancer using radiation?

A
  • external gamma rays
  • internal radiation-emitting implants
73
Q

How can radiation emitting implants be used to treat cancer?

A

Put next to/inside tumours

74
Q

What is the advantage of treating cancer using radiation-emitting implants?

A

Targets tumour very precisely- less damage to healthy tissue

75
Q

What is the disadvantage of using external gamma rays to treat cancer?

A

Fair amount of damage to healthy tissue- patient feels ill

76
Q

What is the perceived risk?

A

How risky a person thinks something is

77
Q

What type of radioactive isotopes are usually used in medical tracers?

A

Gamma sources

78
Q

What are the 2 things radioactive isotopes entering the body should have?

A

Pass out body without causing much ionisation
Short half life so radioactivity quickly disappears

79
Q

What is an example of a radioactive isotope used to explore internal organs?

A

Iodine-23, show whether thyroid gland taking in iodine

80
Q

What are medical tracers used for?

A

Exploration of internal organs

81
Q

What is nuclear fission?

A

Splitting of a large and unstable nucleus

82
Q

What are 2 examples of large unstable atoms?

A

Uranium
Plutonium

83
Q

What is nuclear fission used for?

A

Release energy from large unstable atoms by splitting into smaller atoms

84
Q

What is rare (nuclear fission)?

A

spontaneous (unforced) fission

85
Q

What usually has to happen for fission to occur?

A

Unstable nucleus absorb neutron

86
Q

What does a nucleus undergoing fission split into?

A

2 smaller nuclei, roughly same size

87
Q

What do all fission products have?

A

Kinetic energy

88
Q

What 3 things are emitted when a nucleus splits?

A

2 or 3 neutrons
Gamma rays
Energy

89
Q

How can the neutrons emitted in fission go on to start a chain reaction?

A

If neutrons moving slow enough, absorbed by another nucleus, more fission occurs

90
Q

What is the amount of energy produced by fission in a nuclear reactor controlled by?

A

Changing how quickly chain reaction can occur, using control rods

91
Q

How are the control rods used to control the energy released in fission?

A

Lowered and raised in nuclear reactor

92
Q

How do nuclear weapons work?

A

Uncontrolled chain reactions quickly lead to lots of energy released as explosion

93
Q

What is nuclear fusion?

A

2 light nuclei collide at high speed and join to create larger, heavier nucleus

94
Q

What is an example of nuclear fusion?

A

Hydrogen nuclei fuse to produce helium nucleus

95
Q

What happens to some of the mass of the lighter nuclei in nuclear fusion?

A

Converted to energy and released

96
Q

Why have scientists not yet found a way of using fusion to generate energy for us to use?

A

Temperatures and pressures needed so high that fusion reactors very hard and expensive to build

97
Q

What do radioactive isotopes have a very wide range of?

A

Half lives

98
Q

What happens each time a radioactive nucleus decays to become a stable nucleus?

A

Activity as whole decreases

99
Q

What is the half life?

A

Time taken for number of radioactive nuclei in isotope to half

100
Q

Why do we use half life?

A

Activity never reaches zero, measure how quickly activity drops of

101
Q

What is the other definition of half life?

A

Time taken for activity/count rate to halve

102
Q

What does a short half life mean?

A

Nuclei very unstable and rapidly decay

103
Q

Why are sources with a short half life dangerous?

A

High amount of radiation emit at start, quickly become safe

104
Q

What does a long half life mean?

A

source releases small amounts of radiation for long time

105
Q

Why are sources with a long half life dangerous?

A

Nearby areas exposed to radiations for (millions of) years

Physics Paper 1 (4 decks)

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