Medical equipment, such as syringes, is sterilised by irradiation with gamma rays to make it safe for clinical use.
Explain the difference between nuclear irradiation and nuclear contamination.
Explain how the gamma rays sterilise the medical equipment.
Some medical staff are concerned about handling recently sterilised equipment because they worry it might be radioactive. Explain why the sterilised equipment is safe to handle and does not emit nuclear radiation.
Cobalt-60 is a common source of gamma radiation. Cobalt has two different isotopes, cobalt-59 and cobalt-60. Both isotopes have 27 protons in their nucleus.
Cobalt-60 is radioactive and cobalt-59 is stable. Explain why some isotopes are radioactive.
Describe how the nucleus of cobalt-59 is different from the nucleus of cobalt-60.
Decay equations are used to show the type of emission from different radioactive elements.
Complete the decay equation for alpha emission: 88226Ra→24He+⋯⋯⋯⋯Rn{}^{226}_{88}\text{Ra} \rightarrow {}^{4}_{2}\text{He} + {}^{\cdots\cdots}_{\cdots\cdots}\text{Rn}88226Ra→24He+⋯⋯⋯⋯Rn
Complete the decay equation for beta emission: 614C→⋯⋯⋯⋯β+714N{}^{14}_{6}\text{C} \rightarrow {}^{\cdots\cdots}_{\cdots\cdots}\beta + {}^{14}_{7}\text{N}614C→⋯⋯⋯⋯β+714N
Complete the decay equation for gamma emission: ⋯⋯⋯⋯Tc→00γ+4399Tc{}^{\cdots\cdots}_{\cdots\cdots}\text{Tc} \rightarrow {}^{0}_{0}\gamma + {}^{99}_{43}\text{Tc}⋯⋯⋯⋯Tc→00γ+4399Tc