Types of Radioactive Decay
This type of radiation consists of two protons and two neutrons.
What is alpha radiation?
The time it takes for half of the radioactive nuclei in a sample to decay is called this.
What is half-life?
This process occurs when a heavy nucleus splits into smaller nuclei, releasing energy.
What is nuclear fission?
This subatomic particle has a positive charge and is found in the nucleus of an atom.
What is a proton?
This type of radiation is most likely to penetrate through human tissue.
Answer: What is gamma radiation?
This type of radioactive decay emits high-energy electromagnetic waves.
What is gamma decay?
Half-life is independent of both the physical state and this state of the material.
What is chemical state?
A chain reaction occurs because this particle emitted during fission induces further fission reactions.
What is a neutron?
The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom is called this.
What is the mass number?
Nuclear waste must be stored for long periods because of this property of its radioactive components.
What is a long half-life?
On an N vs Z graph, if a nucleus lies above the band of stability, it is likely to undergo this type of decay.
What is beta decay?
The activity of a radioactive sample is proportional to the number of this present.
What are radioactive nuclei?
In a nuclear fission reaction, the total mass of the reactants is greater than the mass of the products, and the missing mass is converted to this.
What is energy?
Atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons are known as these.
What are isotopes?
This process is used in reactors to prevent the chain reaction from getting out of control.
What is neutron moderation (or control rod insertion)?
This type of radiation has the highest ionising ability but the lowest penetration power.
What is alpha radiation?
This dating method uses the decay of carbon-14 to estimate the age of organic material.
What is radiocarbon dating?
Neutrons must be slowed down in a reactor by this substance to induce fission in uranium-235.
What is a moderator?
This vertical column on the periodic table contains elements with similar chemical properties.
What is a group (or family)?
The nuclear power disaster in this city in 1986 raised global concerns about the safety of nuclear reactors.
What is Chernobyl?
In beta decay, a neutron transforms into this subatomic particle.
What is a proton?
The half-life of a radioactive isotope can be used to estimate the age of this type of rock using the uranium-to-lead ratio.
What are ancient rocks (or comets)?
The process of increasing the fraction of uranium-235 in fuel is known as this.
What is enrichment?
The isotope carbon-14 is used for this type of dating to determine the age of organic materials.
What is radiocarbon dating?
When managing radioactive materials, workers should minimize their exposure using these three principles.
What are time, distance, and shielding?