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Nuclear and particle physics

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Question 4
a.

A stationary polonium-210 nucleus (84210Po^{210}_{84}\text{Po}84210​Po) decays into a nucleus of lead-206 by emitting an alpha-particle. The chemical symbol for lead is extPb ext{Pb}extPb. Write a nuclear equation for this decay.

[1]
b.

The mass of the polonium-210 nucleus is 3.49×10−25 kg3.49 \times 10^{-25} \text{ kg}3.49×10−25 kg. After the decay, the lead-206 nucleus has a recoil speed of 3.1×105 m s−13.1 \times 10^5 \text{ m s}^{-1}3.1×105 m s−1. Calculate the kinetic energy, in MeV\text{MeV}MeV, of the emitted alpha-particle.

[5]
c.

The uranium-235 (92235U^{235}_{92}\text{U}92235​U) nucleus starts a decay chain which ends with a stable nucleus of lead-207 (82207Pb^{207}_{82}\text{Pb}82207​Pb). Show that 11 particles are emitted during this decay chain. Explain your reasoning.

[4]

Nuclear and particle physics Questions

  1. A Level
  2. /Physics
  3. /Nuclear and particle physics