types of radiation

Question 1

what are the three types of radiation?

Answer 1

alpha, beta, gamma

Question 2

what is the most penetrating radiation?

Answer 2

gamma radiation

Question 3

what is the least penetrating type of radiation?

Answer 3

alpha radiation

Question 4

what is the most ionising radiation?

Answer 4

alpha radiation

Question 5

what is the least ionising radiation?

Answer 5

gamma radiation

Question 6

what will stop gamma radiation from passing through a point?

Answer 6

thick lead or concrete

Question 7

what will stop beta from passing through a point?

Answer 7

thin sheet of aluminium OR several meteres of air

Question 8

what will stop alpha from passing through a point?

Answer 8

thin sheet of paper

Question 9

range of alpha particle through air?

Answer 9

a few cm (2-10)

Question 10

name of process where an unstable nucleus gives off radiation to become stable?

Answer 10

radioactive decay

Question 11

what is an atoms atomic number?

Answer 11

total number of protons in an atom

Question 12

what is an atoms mass number?

Answer 12

total number of protons and neutrons in an atom

Question 13

why do unstable nuclei give off radiation?

Answer 13

they undergo radioactive decay to stabilise as their stability increases when they release radiation

Question 14

why are some atomic nuclei unstable?

Answer 14

they have too much energy OR there’s an imbalance between the number of protons and neutrons

Question 15

what is an isotope?

Answer 15

an atom with the same number of protons and different number of neutrons

Question 16

what is gamma radiation?

Answer 16

an electromagnetic wave

Question 17

what is a beta particle?

Answer 17

a high speed electron emitted during radioactive decay

Question 18

what is alpha radiation?

Answer 18

two protons and two neutrons

Question 19

what is background radiation?

Answer 19

radiations found in small quantities that surround us everywhere, everyday

Question 20

what effects an individual’s exposure to background radiation?

Answer 20

location and occupation

Question 21

what is an occupation which receives a larger exposure to background radiation?

Answer 21

people who work on planes

Question 22

why do people who work on planes experience more background radiation?

Answer 22

they are exposed to cosmic rays as they are higher up in the sky

Question 23

two man-made sources of background radiation?

Answer 23

nuclear weapon testing AND nuclear weapon accidents

Question 24

two natural sources of background radiation?

Answer 24

rocks and cosmic rays

Question 25

place in the uk with a high level of background radiation?

Answer 25

Cornwall

Question 26

why does Cornwall have so much background radiation?

Answer 26

high amount of granite

Question 27

why does nuclear weapon testing/accidents cause background radiation?

Answer 27

radioactive isotopes are released into the environment from power stations

Question 28

what is background radiation measured in?

Answer 28

Sv

Question 29

why is alpha harmful to the body?

Answer 29

it is highly ionising and once inside the body, will damage it. alpha cannot penetrate through the skin.

Question 30

how does radon gas occur?

Answer 30

granite undergoes radioactive decay to form radium and radium decays into radon gas

Question 31

what can high levels of radon gas cause?

Answer 31

lung cancer

Question 32

what can ionising radiation do to the body?

Answer 32

it can remove electrons from the atom. if this occurs in the DNA of a living cell, it can kill the cell or cause abnormal growth. this can cause cancer

Question 33

what does radon gas emit?

Answer 33

alpha

Question 34

when do we know an atom will decay?

Answer 34

we don't, the process is completely random like rolling a dice

Question 35

what are other ionising things?

Answer 35

x-rays AND ultraviolet rays