types of radiation

Question 1

what is alpha equivalent to

Answer 1

to a helium nucleus 4 he

                                 2

Question 2

what is gamma equivalent to

Answer 2

em wave

Question 3

what is beta equivalent to

Answer 3

fast moving electron

Question 4

what is the mass number

Answer 4

the number of protons and nutrons

Question 5

what is the atomic number

Answer 5

is the number of protons

Question 6

what is an isotope

Answer 6

Isotopes of the same element have equal numbers of protons but different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei.

Question 7

why does radioactive decay occur

Answer 7

Radioactive decay occurs due to an imbalance between the number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus.

Question 8

what kind of process is radioactive decay

Answer 8

it is a random process

Question 9

what must you do when taking measurement of radioactive decay?

Answer 9

The random nature of radioactive decay must be considered when taking measurements. For example, when measuring the number of nuclei that decay in a minute in a given sample, random fluctuations in the rate can cause the data to vary. This means it is important when measuring radioactive decay to take repeat readings and calculate a mean.

Question 10

what are the two ways of improving the method of the counts per rate

Answer 10

Measure the rate over a longer time such as 10 minute and divide the count by the number of minutes to calculate the counts per minute.

Repeat the experiment and calculate a mean number of counts per minutes

Question 11

at are counts per second measured in

Answer 11

becquerels

Question 12

where does background radiation come from

Answer 12

radon gas
rocks
buildings
food
cosmic radiation
medicine
nuclear power and testing.

Question 13

why can background radiation vary in some places than others

Answer 13

Some rocks, such as granite, contain some radioactive isotopes. As the elements in the rocks decay, radon gas is formed which then moves up through the ground. The amount of radon in the air depends on the type of rocks below the ground and therefore, the reading can vary from place to place.

Question 14

are there any other types of radiation

Answer 14

yes there is some radiations isotopes in common elements in food and materials used in buildings

Question 15

where does cosmic radiation come from

Answer 15

Cosmic radiation travels through the atmosphere from space. This means background radiation will vary with altitude as there is more cosmic radiation at higher altitudes.

Question 16

how do other sources produce radiation

Answer 16

artificial sources contribute much less to background radiation. The largest source of artificial background radiation comes from the medical sector due to X-rays and radiotherapy. Only a very small amount is due to nuclear power and testing.

Question 17

where does most background radiation come from

Answer 17

Most background radiation comes from natural sources.

Question 18

why do we need to store ionising radiation really well

Answer 18

Nuclear power stations and nuclear medicine produce radioactive waste materials, some of which remain radioactive for thousands of years. As these waste materials can emit a mixture of different types of ionising radiation, it is important to store them safely.

Question 19

what is one solution to store ionising radiation

Answer 19

One solution is storing these materials underground. The waste is stored in drums and then sealed with concrete to ensure that no radiation can penetrate and affect any living cells. Even then, they must still be monitored to ensure that there is no leakage. As the half-life of these materials can be very long, storing and monitoring can be expensive.

Question 20

subtraction of how you must find the radiation of only one source

Answer 20

For example, a rate of 24.0 Bq is measured when a sample is placed in front of a Geiger-Muller counter. If the level of background radiation is 2.5 Bq, this must be subtracted from the measured rate to calculate the rate of the source alone. The rate from this source is 24.0 – 2.5 = 21.5 Bq.

Question 21

seconds and minutes

Answer 21

if it says minutes then keep it in minutes reeeeeeeeeead the question.

Question 22

how penetrating is alpha

Answer 22

alpha is the least penetrating
it can be stopped by a thin sheet of paper

Question 23

how penetrating is beta

Answer 23

beta has medium penetrating properties it can be stopped by aluminium

Question 24

how penetrating is gamma

Answer 24

gamma is the most penetrating the em wave can just be slowed down thick block of lead

Question 25

can a source only produce one type of radiation

Answer 25

Many sources emit a combination of different types of radiation.

Question 26

what is the difference between a helium atom and an alpha nucleus

Answer 26

helium atom has electrons