The spontaneous emission of energy from unstable atomic nuclei is called what?
Radioactivity
Fusion reaction is the bonding of two ____ atoms.
What is "Hydrogen"
What is a half-life?
The time it takes for half of a radioactive sample to decay
True or False: Radiation is harmful at any level of exposure
False: There are many beneficial aspects to radiation (X-rays, CT scans, Power plants, cancer treatment)
True or False: Fission does not produce any radioactive waste
False
Where does fusion occur naturally?
The sun and other stars
What is the relationship between half-life and the stability of a radioisotope?
The longer the half-life the more stable the radioisotope
What does alpha radiation consist of? (4 things)
two protons and two neutrons
What is one use of nuclear fission?
Does fusion produce more or less energy than fission
More. Fusion produces 10 times as much energy as fission
True or False: All radioactive decay curves are the same
True, the only difference between isotopes graphs is the time it takes to decay
Where does natural radiation come from? (Multiple places)
Cosmic radiation (due to the explosion of stars), terrestrial radiation (from rocks and soil) and from radon gas in the Earths crust
What is the byproduct of nuclear fission?
Energy
Why is nuclear fusion difficult to produce?
It requires extremely high temperatures and pressure to occur
Why must radioactive waste be properly stored and disposed over?
Name at least one use for radiation in agriculture, medicine, and scientific research? (One in each category)
Agriculture: Food Preservation, Soil and water management, pest control, crop improvement
Medicine: X-ray/CT scans/PET scans, radiation therapy, sterilization of equipment, tracers for studying body functions
Scientific Research: Carbon dating, studying geological processes, analysing material composition, space exploration
What is a chain reaction in nuclear fission?
The continuation of fission after the inital fragmentation as more nuclei split causing the release of energy and smaller nuclei.
Fusion is the combining of nuclei whereas fission is the splitting of nucleus.
Fusion is a process with small atomic nuclei whereas fission requires heavy atomic nuclei
What is one food that naturally produces radiation
This is due to the presence of the radioisotope potassium-40