7 Radioactivity and Particles – Part B “Radioactivity”

Syllabus Aims…

7.2 describe the structure of an atom in terms of protons, neutrons and electrons and use symbols such as C14 to describe particular nuclei

7.3 know the terms atomic (proton) number, mass (nucleon) number and isotope

7.4 know that alpha (a) particles, beta ( b-) particles and gamma (g) rays are ionising radiations emitted from unstable nuclei in a random process

7.5 describe the nature of alpha (a) particles, beta ( b-) particles and gamma (g) rays and recall that they may be distinguished in terms of penetrating power and ability to ionise

7.6 practical: investigate the penetration powers of different types of radiation using either radioactive sources or simulations.

7.7 describe the effects on the atomic and mass numbers of a nucleus of the emission of each of the four main types of radiation (alpha, beta, gamma and neutron radiation)

7.8 understand how to complete balanced nuclear equations in terms of mass and charge
7.9 know that photographic film or a Geiger–Müller detector can detect ionising radiations
7.10 explain the sources of background (ionising) radiation from Earth and space.

7.11 know that the activity of a radioactive source decreases over a period of time and is measured in becquerels

7.12 know the term ‘half-life’ and understand that it is different for different radioactive isotopes

7.13 use the concept of the half-life to carry out simple calculations on activity, including graphical methods.

7.14 describe the uses of radioactivity in industry and medicine

7.15 describe the difference between contamination and irradiation
7.16 describe the dangers of ionising radiations including

that radiation can cause mutations in living organisms
that radiation can damage cells and tissue
the problems arising in the disposal of radioactive waste and how the associated risks can be reduced.

Resources…

Use this PowerPoint for a quick review…

7B Radioactivity and Particles Lessons 6 to 9

7B Radioactivity and Particles Lessons 1 to 5

Marie & Pierre Curie, Henri Becquerel. The Discovery of Radioactivity and Radioactive Elements.

Antoine Henri Becquerel (15 December 1852 – 25 August 1908) was a French physicist, Nobel laureate, and the discoverer of radioactivity, for work in this field he, along with Marie ...Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie, received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics. The SI unit for radioactivity, the becquerel (Bq), is named after him.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie (7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person (and only woman) to win twice, the only person to win twice in multiple sciences, and was part of the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes. She was also the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris, and in 1995 became the first woman to be entombed on her own merits in the Panthéon in Paris.

Pierre Curie (15 May 1859 – 19 April 1906) was a French physicist, a pioneer in crystallography, magnetism, piezoelectricity and radioactivity. In 1903 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics with his wife, Marie Skłodowska-Curie, and Henri Becquerel, "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel".

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Marie & Pierre Curie, Henri Becquerel. The Discovery of Radioactivity and Radioactive Elements.

Antoine Henri Becquerel (15 December 1852 – 25 August 1908) was a French [...]

Marie Curie's Radium - Part 1 of 3 - The Six Experiments that Changed the World

A great video about the life of Marie Curie and the discovery of Radium. [...]

Natural History Museum Geiger Counter

GCSE Physics - Alpha, Beta and Gamma Radiation #33

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Beta Radiation Deflection in a Magnetic Field

Charged particles deflect in Magnetic Field

GCSE Physics - Radioactive Decay and Half Life #35

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Protactinium half life experiment

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British Museum Gebelein Man - Oldest Mummy found in the World!

Gebelein, Egypt, Predynastic period, around 3500 BC A naturally preserved [...]

Gebelein, Egypt, Predynastic period, around 3500 BC

A naturally preserved mummy in a reconstructed pit-grave.

This man died more than five thousand years ago and was buried at the site of Gebelein, ...in Upper Egypt. The reconstruction of his grave illustrates the early Egyptian custom of placing the body in a contracted, foetal position, usually on the left side, with the head to the south, facing the west, the land of the dead where he would be reborn. Around him were all the things he might need for his afterlife, especially pottery to hold and serve food.

In the Predynastic period (4400-3100 BC), the time before the pharaohs, the dead were buried in shallow graves cut into the desert sand. The graves were often lined with reed mats, making them like a bed, and the body was covered with linen or skins and more mats, like a blanket, before the grave was refilled and perhaps topped by a mound of dirt. Contact with the hot dry sand naturally preserved the bodies because the sand absorbed the water that constitutes approximately 75% by weight of the human body. Bacteria cannot breed without moisture and as a result, the bodies frequently did not decay, but simply dried out. The body of this man is remarkably well-preserved, even down to his finger-nails and hair, which has probably faded with time.

Chance discoveries of these sand-dried mummies (for example, when a grave was disturbed by animals or robbers), may have promoted the belief that physical preservation of the body was necessary for the afterlife. This may have led the later Egyptians to develop means of artificial mummification after the introduction of coffins and deeper graves separated the body from the natural drying effects of the sand.

The objects that surrounded Gebelein Man in his original burial are unknown. On display is a selection of typical grave-goods from other graves of the middle Predynastic period (about 3500 BC), the time we believe he died. Attempts to date the body using Carbon 14 (the radiocarbon method) have so far been unsuccessful