A stationary uranium-238 nucleus (92238U^{238}_{92}\text{U}92238U) decays into a nucleus of thorium-234 by emitting an alpha-particle. The chemical symbol for thorium is Th\text{Th}Th. Write a nuclear equation for this decay.
The mass of the uranium nucleus is 3.95×10−25 kg3.95 \times 10^{-25} \text{ kg}3.95×10−25 kg. After the decay, the thorium nucleus has a speed of 2.6×105 m s−12.6 \times 10^5 \text{ m s}^{-1}2.6×105 m s−1. Calculate the kinetic energy, in MeV\text{MeV}MeV, of the alpha-particle.
The uranium-235 (92235U^{235}_{92}\text{U}92235U) nucleus starts a decay chain which ends with a stable nucleus of lead-207 (82207Pb^{207}_{82}\text{Pb}82207Pb). Show that 11 particles are emitted during this decay chain. Explain your reasoning.
90 exam-style questions on OCR A A Level Physics Nuclear and particle physics, covering The nuclear atom, Fundamental particles, Radioactivity, and Nuclear fission and fusion. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.