P6 - Radioactive Materials

Question 1

What are all elements made of?

Answer 1

Atoms

Question 2

How many types of atom make up each element?

Answer 2

Only one

Question 3

What two things do all atoms contain?

Answer 3

A nucleus and electrons

Question 4

What 2 things is the nucleus made of?

Answer 4

Protons and neutrons

Question 5

What element is the exception to the nucleus being made up of protons and neutrons?

Answer 5

Hydrogen

Question 6

What is the lightest element?

Answer 6

Hydrogen

Question 7

How is hydrogen different from other elements?

Answer 7

Its nucleus is made up of just one proton and one electron, no neutrons, rather than protons and neutrons like all other elements

Question 8

What do radioactive elements emit?

Answer 8

Ionising radiation

Question 9

How often do radioactive elements emit ionising radiation?

Answer 9

All the time

Question 10

What emits ionising radiation?

Answer 10

Radioactive elements

Question 11

What cannot change the radioactive behaviour of a substance?

Answer 11

Neither chemical reactions nor physical processes (e.g. smelting)

Question 12

True or False?

Every atom of a particular element will always have a different number of protons. (HT)

Answer 12

False - Every atom of a particular element will always have the same number of protons. (If they contained a different number of protons, it would be a different element)

Question 13

How many protons will a hydrogen atom have? (HT)

Answer 13

1

Question 14

How many protons will a helium atom have? (HT)

Answer 14

2

Question 15

How many protons will an oxygen atom have? (HT)

Answer 15

8

Question 16

a) How many protons will a hydrogen atom have? (HT)
b) How many protons will a helium atom have? (HT)
c) How many protons will an oxygen atom have? (HT)
d) How do we know this? (HT)

Answer 16

a) 1
b) 2
c) 8
d) Because the number of protons that a particular element has will always stay the same.

Question 17

Every atom of a particular element will always have the same number of protons. What what can some atoms of the same element have different numbers of? (HT)

Answer 17

Neutrons

Question 18

Some atoms of the same element can have different numbers of neutrons. What are these called? (HT)

Answer 18

isotopes

Question 19

What are the 3 isotopes of oxygen? For each one, state how many neutrons and protons it has. (HT)

Answer 19

• Oxygen-16, has eight neutrons and eight protons
• Oxygen-17, has nine neutrons and eight protons
• Oxygen-18, has 10 neutrons and eight protons

Question 20

How many types of ionising radiation can radioactive materials give out?

Answer 20

3

Question 21

What are the three types of ionising radiation that radioactive materials can give out?

Answer 21

• Alpha
• Beta
• Gamma

Question 22

What sort of ionising powers does alpha radiation have?

Answer 22

Strong ionising power.

Question 23

Through what sort of thickness/material can alpha radiation be absorbed by?

Answer 23

A few centimetres of air or a thin sheet of paper

Question 24

What sort of ionising powers does beta radiation have?

Answer 24

Reasonable ionising power

Question 25

Through what sort of thickness/material can beta radiation be absorbed by?

Answer 25

Beta passes through air and paper but is absorbed by a few millimetres of aluminium

Question 26

What sort of ionising powers does gamma radiation have?

Answer 26

Poor ionising power

Question 27

Through what sort of thickness/material can gamma radiation be absorbed by?

Answer 27

Gamma is very penetrating and needs many centimetres of lead or many metres of concrete to absorb most of it

Question 28

When is ionising radiation emitted? (HT)

Answer 28

When the nucleus of an unstable atom decays

Question 29

What does the type of radioactive decay depend on?

Answer 29

Why the nucleus is unstable in the first place; the process of decay helps the atom become more stable

Question 30

During radioactive decay, what happens if the number of protons changes? (HT)

Answer 30

The element changes to another type