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Radioactivity

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Question 6
a.

The table gives some properties of different types of radiation.

Type of radiationNatureRelative chargeDeflected by magnetic fields?
alpha (α\alphaα)helium nucleusmissing property (1)Yes
beta-minus (β−\beta^-β−)high-energy electron-1Yes
gamma (γ\gammaγ)missing property (2)0No

Complete the table by identifying the two missing properties.

[2]
b.

Which type of radiation from the table is the most strongly ionising?

[1]
c.

Which type of radiation from the table is typically absorbed by a few millimetres of aluminium?

[1]
d.

Radium-226 is a radioactive isotope of radium.

It decays by alpha emission to form an isotope of radon (Rn).

Complete the nuclear equation for the decay of radium-226 by filling in the missing numbers in the boxes:

22688Ra⟶22286Rn+42α \begin{array}{c} \boxed{226} \\ \boxed{88} \end{array}\text{Ra} \longrightarrow \begin{array}{c} \boxed{\phantom{222}} \\ \boxed{\phantom{86}} \end{array}\text{Rn} + \begin{array}{c} \boxed{\phantom{4}} \\ \boxed{2} \end{array}\alpha 226​88​​Ra⟶222​86​​Rn+4​2​​α
[3]
Markscheme

Radioactivity Questions

  1. IGCSE
  2. /Physics
  3. /Radioactivity

65 exam-style questions on Edexcel IGCSE Physics Radioactivity. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.

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