TOPIC 9 NUCLEAR DECAY

Topic 9A Radioactivity

1 Discuss the relationship between penetrating power and ionising properties in

radioactive decay. Use this discussion to explain the differences seen between
alpha, beta and gamma radiation in relation to these two properties.
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(Total for Question 1 = 5 marks)
2 One possible reaction which may take place inside a nuclear fission reactor is:
U n → Xe Sr 3
The masses for this reaction are:
uranium-235 235.043 u
xenon-143 142.908 u
strontium-90 89.907 u
neutron 1.009 u

(a) For this reaction calculate the mass on each side of the equation,
expressing the answer in terms of the atomic mass unit.
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(b) Calculate the energy released per fission of uranium-235, giving your
answer in eV.
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 (c) Calculate the energy released by the complete fission of 1.0g of uranium-
235, expressing the answer in joules.
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(Total for Question 2 = 5 marks)

3 A pure radioactive substance is placed in a container. The activity of the sample

is measured over time and the results are plotted on the graph below as a
dashed line. The half-life of the substance is already known and a set of
expected data is calculated based on this. This data is plotted as the solid line.

(a) Calculate the decay constant for the substance based on its calculated
activity.
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 (b) Give three possible reasons why the observed activity is higher than the
calculated activity.
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(Total for Question 3 = 6 marks)

4 Iron-56 (Fe-56) has a binding energy of 8.8 MeV per nucleon.

(a) Calculate the binding energy of a Fe-56 nucleus in J.

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(b) Explain why iron cannot undergo fission or fusion to produce energy.
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(Total for Question 4 = 4 marks)

TOTAL FOR ASSESSMENT = 20 MARKS

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document may have been altered from the original
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