Formative Practice 8.

1 (pg237)

1. Name the first person who discovered:

(a) the X-ray: Wilhelm Roentgen
(b) radioactive radiation: Henri Becquerel
(c) gamma rays emitted by radium: Marie and Pierre Curie
2. What is the meaning of radioactivity?
Radioactivity is the spontaneous decay process of an unstable nucleus by emitting radioactive
radiation.

3. (a) Name two units of radioactivity: curie (Ci) and becquerel (Bq)
(b) What is the quantity measured in radioactivity unit?
The decay rate of an unstable nucleus.

4. Give three examples of radioactive elements.

Carbon-14 (C-14), Radon-222 (Rn-222), Thorium-232 (Th-232) and Uranium-238 (U-238)

5. What is the meaning of half-life?

Half-life. T, is the time taken for the number of undecayed nuclei to be reduced to half of its
original value.