p7- radioactivity Flashcards
(32 cards)
ion
charged atom
alpha particles are strongly ionising. true or false?
true
what is the mass of a neutron?
1
what is the charge of a neutron?
0
what is a beta particles mass?
1/1800 amu (virtually 0)
how ionising are beta particles?
moderately
what will happen if an element with an atomic number of 14 and an atomic mass of 6 hits a beta particle?
it will end up with an atomic number of 14 and an atomic mass of 7
what is a beta particle absorbed by?
a few mm of aluminium
what is a beta particles range in air?
a few metres
what is the mass of an electron?
0.0005
what is the charge of an electron?
-1
what will happen if a gamma ray hits an element?
nothing
what is a neutron?
uncharged particles
how ionising are gamma rays?
weak
what is a gamma particle?
electromagnetic waves emitted from unstable nuclei in radioactive substances
what is an electron?
a negatively charged particle that move around the nucleus of an atom
what is a beta particle?
a high energy electron created in emitted from unstable nuclei
what is an alpha particle?
a particle compounded of 2 protons and 2 neutrons, emitted from unstable nuclei
can gamma rays be fully absorbed?
no
how far can gamma rays travel?
virtually forever
what happens if isotopes are unstable?
they will decay into other elements and give out radiation to try and become stable (aka radioactive decay)
what is half life?
average time taken for half of the radioactive atoms to decay
or
average time taken for count rate of original substance to fall by half
how far can alpha particles travel into the air?
a few cm
what is an isotope?
atoms with equal numbers of protons but different numbers of neutrons
