Lecture 4

Question 1

Nuclear half-life

Answer 1

The time required for one halls of the original number of nuclei to undergo decay

Question 2

Radioactive decay

Answer 2

1st order decay

Question 3

Examples of radioactive isotopes

Answer 3

1. Radioactive tracers
2. Smoke detectors
3. Food introduction
4. Pet scans
5. C-14 dating

Question 4

Kinetics

Answer 4

Reaction, rates or speeds

Question 5

Alpha

Answer 5

The most massive particles

Question 6

Beta

Answer 6

Has a negative charge

Question 7

Gamma

Answer 7

Natural radiation is Purdue energy

Question 8

Factors determining nuclear stability

Answer 8

1. Number of nucleons in the nucleus
2. Ratio of neutrons to protons

Question 9

Precision vs. accuracy

Answer 9

Precision: repetition in the same area
Accurate: close to value or target where aiming

Question 10

Percent error

Answer 10

The approximation error in a data value

Question 11

Mean absolute deviation

Answer 11

The average of the absolute deviations from a central point

Question 12

Systematic error

Answer 12

Produced values that are either all higher or all lower than actual value (using a device that is not calibrated correctly)

Question 13

Random error

Answer 13

an error in measurement caused by factors which vary from one measurement to another (human error