Week 3 part 2

Question 1

What is half-life?

Answer 1

• The time it takes for the amount of radiation emitted to half.

Question 2

What is half-life measured in?

Answer 2

• Bacquerels

1 Bq is 1 decay per second

Question 3

What is background radiation? (DON’T NEED)

Answer 3

• Low level radiation that is around us all the time, you should always measure and subtract the background radiation from your results to avoid systematic errors.

Question 4

What factors affect background radiation? (DON’T NEED)

Answer 4

• Food, air, building materials, rocks, cosmic rays, nuclear explosions (man made).

Question 5

What is irradiation?

Answer 5

• Being exposed to radiation

Question 6

What is contamination?

Answer 6

• When radioactive atoms get into or onto an object

Question 7

Which types of radiation are dangerous inside the body?

Answer 7

• Alpha because it does most of its damage in a localised area.
• Beta is not because the radiation is absorbed over a wider area
• Gamma the radiation just passes through organs

Question 8

What types of radiation are dangerous outside the body?

Answer 8

• Beta and gamma as they can pass through the skin

- Alpha is not as dangerous as it can’t pass through skin