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Physics
Nuclear Energy + Radiation
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What does the mass number tell you about the atom? | number of protons and neutrons |
| What does the atomic number tell you about the atom? | the number of protons, which is always equal to the number of electrons |
| Where in an atom is radioactivity released? | the nucleus |
| What factor affecting the nucleus of an atom causes radioactivity? | an unstable nucleus |
| What is the unit of activity? | Becquerel (Bq) |
| What is an isotope? | an atom of the same element but contains a different number of neutrons |
| What is an isotope that emits radioactivity called? | radioisotope |
| Describe what is meant by 'half-life.' | the time it takes for half the original number of un-decayed atoms to decay |
| Why is radioactivity dangerous? | ionises cells |
| Name 2 types of background radiation. | Natural and artificial |
| Give some examples of natural background radiation. | cosmic rays, radon gas |
| Give some examples of artificial background radiation. | nuclear power stations, nuclear weapons |
| Which form of background radiation takes up the majority? | natural |
| What is an alpha particle? | a helium nucleus |
| What is an alpha particle made up of? | 2 neutrons, 2 electrons |
| What charge are alpha particles? | +2 |
| What is a beta particle? | a fast moving electron |
| What is a gamma ray/wave? | a high energy electromagnetic wave |
| Which type of radiation has the most penetrating power? | gamma |
| Which type of radiation is the most dangerous outside of the body? | gamma |
| Which type of radiation is the most dangerous inside the body? | alpha |
| Which type of radiation is not affected by a magnetic field? | gamma |
| Which type of radiation has the longest range in air? | gamma |
| How is beta effected by an electric and magnetic field? | has -1 charge and a small mass, so strongly deflected towards the positive |
| How is alpha effected by an electric and magnetic field? | has +2 charge but high mass, so deflected weakly towards the negative |
| How gamma effected by an electric and magnetic field? | has no charge and no mass, so not effected at all |
| What happens to the mass and atomic number during alpha decay? | mass number = -4 atomic number = -2 |
| What happens to the mass and atomic number during beta decay? | mass number = no change atomic number = +1 |
| What happens to the mass and atomic number during gamma decay? | no change |
| What happens to cells when exposed to ionising radiation? | can kill the cell or cause cell to become cancerous |
| Which type of radiation is the most ionising? | alpha |
| What is carbon dating used for? | to date the age of bones, wood etc... |
| Which type of radiation should be used in medical tracers? Why? | gamma, because gamma is able to get out of the body |
| Why can nuclear power station be seen as 'better' than traditional power stations? | nuclear power does not emit carbon dioxide, so it doesn't contribute to greenhouse gases |
| Inside the nuclear reactor, what do the moderator and control rod control? | rate of reaction |
| What is the most commonly used moderator? | water, also used as a coolant |
| How does the moderator effect neutrons? | slows down fast moving neutrons, in order to enable absorption by uranium-235 |
| What is nuclear fusion? | when to nuclei are fused together, releasing huge amounts of energy |
| What is nuclear fission? | when atoms are split, releasing huge amounts of energy |
| What factor of nuclear fusion makes it extremely hard to do? | Extremely high pressure and temperature |
| Which 2 radioisotopes are used as fuel in a nuclear reactor? | uranium-235 and plutonium-239 |
| What happens when U-235 or P-239 absorb a slow neutron? | they split to form 2 smaller nuclei, this releases further neutrons which leads to a chain reaction |
| How is the rate of reaction increased and decreased in a nuclear reactor? | neutron absorbing control rods are lowered to slow down the rate of reaction and are raised to speed up rate of reaction |
| Why are the control rods important? | they control the rate of reaction so that explosions don't occur |
| How can ionising radiation inside the reactor prevented from escaping? | steel and concrete walls |
Created by:
liamowens
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