Radioactive isotopes are commonly used in research laboratories.
State and explain two safety precautions necessary when handling radioactive sources in a laboratory.
Explain two reasons why gamma-emitters, rather than alpha-emitters, are selected as radioactive tracers to monitor organs from outside the body.
Carbon-14 is an isotope of carbon (C\text{C}C) that has a proton number of 6 and a nucleon number of 14.
Carbon-14 decays by the emission of a beta-particle (β−\beta^-β−) to form an isotope of nitrogen (N\text{N}N).
Use nuclide notation to write down the nuclide equation for this decay.
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.