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5.2 Radioactivity

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Question 46

Polonium-210 is radioactive. It can be represented as 84210Po^{210}_{84}\text{Po}84210​Po.

a.

For a neutral atom of polonium-210, state:

  1. the number of protons,
  2. the number of neutrons,
  3. the number of electrons.
[2]
b.

A polonium-210 nucleus decays by α\alphaα-particle emission to a lead (Pb\text{Pb}Pb) nucleus. Complete the equation for the decay of polonium-210:

84210Po→…… ^{210}_{84}\text{Po} \rightarrow \dots\dots 84210​Po→……
[2]
c.

Polonium-210 has a half-life of 138 days.

At a certain time, a sample contains 8.0×1078.0 \times 10^78.0×107 polonium nuclei.

Calculate the number of α\alphaα-particles emitted by the polonium nuclei in the following 414 days.

[3]
Markscheme

5.2 Radioactivity Questions

  1. IGCSE
  2. /Physics
  3. /5.2 Radioactivity

484 exam-style questions on CIE IGCSE Physics 5.2 Radioactivity, covering 5.2.1 Background radiation and measuring count rate, 5.2.2a Alpha, beta and gamma emission, 5.2.2b Deflection and ionising effects of nuclear radiation, 5.2.3a Radioactive decay, 5.2.3b Effects of decay on the nucleus and decay equations, 5.2.4a Half-life, 5.2.4b Choosing isotopes for applications, and 5.2.5 Effects of ionising radiation and safety precautions. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.

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