Studied by 0 people
Looks like no one added any tags here yet for you.
Define radioactivity
The process of the decay of a radioactive nuclide (i.e. the emission of energetic particles/waves from the nucleus of an atom)
Define Natural
Not induced (i.e. nothing has to be done to radioactive minerals to make radioactivity happen, and nothing can be done to stop it).
Define Spontaneous
Nothing can be done to change the amount of radiation emitted (e.g. heating the material, putting it in electric/magnetic fields or putting pressure on it).
Define Random
There is no way of telling when a particular nucleus will decay - the emission of radiation is completely irregular.
Define Half life
the time taken for the number of undecayed nuclei to halve from an original value
What is the decay constant
the probability that the nucleus will decay for each second that it exists
Define Activity
the number of unstable radioactive nuclei that decay per second
What is the equation for activity
A=-λN
What else can the equation for activity be written as?
N=N0 e^{-λ t}
Define background radiation
Background radiation is the ionizing radiation present in the environment. Background radiation originates from a variety of sources, both natural and artificial.
What are the main sources of background radiation
Radon gas- largest
medical
ground and buildings
cosmic rays
food and drink
nuclear and other.
What is background radiation measured in
Becquerels (Bq)
What is gamma Emmision
A
What is a beta emission
What is a beta emission
What is radioactive decay
why does the radioactivity of a source decrease over time
radioactive decay is a random and spontaneous process. As more time passes, more nuclei decay, therefore there are less unstable nuclei left to decay as time goes by, meaning activity slows down.
Define Radiation
Why is the count rate different from the activity
Not all of the isotopes will go in the direction of the Geiger Muller counter when measuring count rate.
What is the equation for half life
T1/2= Ln2/λ
What does N stand for in A=-λN
N is the number of radioactive particles present in the source at time t
What is the unified atomic mass u
The unified atomic mass unit is a standard unit of mass that quantifies mass on an atomic scale.
What is the value of U
1 u = 1.66×10⁻²⁷ kg
Rank the types of nuclear decay from least to most ionising
Rank the types of nuclear decay from least to most penetrating
Rank the types of nuclear decay from least to most range
Rank the types of nuclear decay from fastest to slowest.
