RADI

OACTI
VITY
Tabl
eofCont
ent
s
St
abi
l
ityofI
sot
opesofEl
ement
s Or
gani
zer 2
Radi
oact
ivi
tyasaNucl
earReact
ion 3
Ty
pesofRadi
oact
ivi
ty 3
Ty
pes,Char
act
eri
sti
csandPr
oper
ti
esof
r
adi
ati
ons 4
Radi
oact
iveDecayandHal
f-
Lif
e 5
Nucl
earReact
ions 7
Appl
i
cat
ionsofRadi
oact
ivi
ty 9
Danger
sofRadi
oact
ivi
ty 10
Env
ironment
alPol
l
uti
on 10
Obj
ect
ives
Bytheendoft
het
opi
cthel
ear
nershoul
dbeabl
e
to:
(
a)Def
ine r
adi
oacti
vit
y, hal
f-
li
fe,
r
adi
oisot
opesandnucl
ides.
(
b)Stat
ethetypesofr adioacti
vi
ty, namet he
part
icl
es emitted dur i
ng r adioact
ive
decayandstat
et heirproper
ties.
(
c)Car
ryoutsimpl
e cal
cul
ati
ons i
nvol
vi
ng
hal
f-
li
fe(
t-½)
.
(
d)Wr
it
ebal
ancednucl
earequat
ions.
(
e)Dist
ingui
shbet
weennucl
earf
issi
onand
fusi
on.
(
f)St
atetheusesofsomer adi
oisot
opesand
dangersassoci
atedwi
thradi
oactiv
ity
.
2 ELECTROCHEMI

RADI
OACTI
VITY
St
abi
l
ityofI
sot
opesofEl
ement
s
Apar
ti
cul
arnucl
eusofanat
om char
act
eri
sedbyi
tspr
otonsandneut
ronsi
sknownasanucl
i
de.
Nucl
i
des can ei
therbe st
able orunst abl
e. Most
st
abl
e nucl
ides hav
e a neutr
on/ pr
oton(
n/p) r
ati
o
20
ofabout1 :1.Forex ample,40Ca has 20
neut
ronsand20pr
otons,hencet
hen/
prat
io i
s20:
20=1: 1.
Fornuclidesofhi ghatomicnumber ,t
hen/ p r
ati
on
i
ncreasespr ogressi
vel
yup t o about1.6 :1 which
i
sst i
llwi t
hinthestabil
it
yregion.Abov ethi
s val
ue
thenucleusbecomest oolar
geandunst abl
e.

The unst abl

e nucl
ide normally undergoes some
changes by emitti
ng radi
ati
on inf orm of
parti
clesandenergy.Suchemi ssi
onsr esult
s i
nthe
producti
on ofnew nucl i
des ofcompl etel
y
dif
ferentcomposi
ti
on.

Radi
oact
ivi
tyasaNucl
earReact
ion
Radioacti
vit
yisthepr
ocesswhereanunstablenucl
idebreaksupt
oyi
eldanot
hernucl
ideof
di
fferentcomposi
ti
onwit
hemissi
onofpar
ti
clesandenergy
.
Substances,
whichundergor
adi
oact
ivi
ty,
aresai
dtober
adi
oact
ive.I
sot
opes,
whi
char
eradi
oact
ive,
areknownasr adi
oisot
opes.
The spontaneous di
sint
egrati
on of r
adi
oacti
ve nucli
des i
s known as r
adi
oact
ive decay
.
Radi
oacti
vi
t yi
sanuclearprocessandnotachemicalr
eacti
on.

Di
ff
erencesbet
weenchemi
calandnucl
earr
eact
ions
Nucl
earReact
ion Chemi
calReact
ion
1.Takesplacewi
thi
nt eus Takespl
henucl aceontheouterenergyl
evel
s
and i nv
olves neut
rons and contai
ningtheval
enceelect
rons.Doesnot
prot
ons. i
nvolveprot
onsandneutrons.
2.Rel
easesl
ar sofheat Theheatener
geamount gyr
eleasedi
smuchl
ess.
ener
gy.
3.Notaffect
edbyenvi
r al Ar
onment eaf
fect
edbyenvir
onmental
fact
orssuchas
fact
orssuchast
emper
atur
e. temper
atur
e andpr
essur
e.

Ty
pesofRadi
oact
ivi
ty

Ther
ear
etwot
ypesofr
adi
oact
ivi
tynamel
ynat
uralandar
ti
fi
cial
.
Nat
uralr
adi
oact
ivi
tyoccur
swhenr
adi
oact
ivenucl
eispl
itspont
aneousl
yyi
eldi
nganew nucl
i
de
3

wi
tht
heemi
ssi
onofr
adi
ati
onandener
gy.
Forexampl
e,t
henucl
eusofur
ani
um–238under
goesnat
uralr
adi
oact
ivedecayt
ofor
m Thor
ium –
234andsomeradi
ati
on.
Arti
fi
cialr
adioacti
vi
tyoccur
swhenl ar
gestabl
enucli
desarebombardedwithfastmovi
nghigh-
energyparti
cles.I
ntheprocess,t
henucl
i
desspli
tintorel
ati
vel
ysmall
ernucl
eiwithemi
ssi
onof
radi
ati
onandener gy.

Ty
pes,
Char
act
eri
sti
csandPr
oper
ti
esofr
adi
ati
ons

Whenradi
oact
ivenucl
i
desdi
si
ntegr
ate,t
heyemi
tradi
ati
onsnamel
yal
phapar
ti
cles(
α),bet
a(β)
andgamma(γ).

Char
act
eri
sti
csofRadi
ati
ons
2+
Alpha radiat
ions ar
e par
ti
cles whi
ch are posi
ti
vel
y char
ged heli
um nucl ei
,He .They ar
e
4 + +
repr edas2He i
esent nnucl
earequat
ions.Al
phaparti
cl
eshaveanelectr
icalchar
geof2.Theyar
e
t
heheav
iestoft
het
hreer
adi
ati
ons.
0
Bet
aradi
ati
onsar
epar
ti
cl
eswhi
char
enegat
ivel
ychar
ged.Theyar
erepr edas-1e.Theyar
esent e
elect
rons,whi
chor
iginat
efrom wit
hint
henucl
eusandnotfrom t
heout
erener
gyl
evel
s.Theyar
e
formedwhenaneutronchangesint
oaprot
onwithi
nthenucl
eus.
1 1 0
n p e
0 → 1 + -
1
neutron pr
oton el
ect
ron
The–1isnotanatomi
cnumber
.Itrepresent
sthechar
geonthepar
ti
cl
es.Bet
apar
ti
cleshav
ean
–
el
ect
ri
calchar
geof1.
Gammaradiat
ionsar
ehighener
gyrays.Theydonothaveanelect
ri
calcharge.Theyar
enot
emi
tt
edonthei
rownbutnor
mall
yaccompanytheemi
ssi
onofal
phaorbet
aparti
cles.
Pr
oper
ti
esofRadi
ati
ons

Penet
rat
ingpower
Alphapart
icl
eshav
everyl
owpenetrat
ingpower
.Theydonotpasst
hroughasheetofpaper
.The
havearangeofonl
yafewcent
imet
resinai
r.

Betapart
icl
eshavehigherpenetrati
ngpower.Theycanpasst hr
oughasheetofpaperbutar e
st
oppedbyasheetofaluminium f
oil.
Gammar ayshavethehighestpenetr
ati
ngpower.Theypasst
hroughasheetofpaperandasheet
ofal
uminium.Theyar
ehowev erstoppedbyathi
ckleadbl
ock.
4 ELECTROCHEMI

Def
lect
ionbyanEl
ect
ri
cFi
eld
Alphapar t
iclesar eposi
ti
vel
ycharged.They are
theref
oreat tractedtothenegati
veplatein an
electr
icfi
eld.Si ncetheyareheavytheyare onl
y
sli
ghtlydeflected.
Bet
apar t
iclesarenegati
velychargedand soare
def
lectedt otheposi
ti
vepl at
einanelectri
c fi
eld.
Thedef l
ectionisgr
eaterthanthatofalpha
par
ticl
esduet othei
rmuchsmal lermasses.
Gammar
aysdonothav
eachar
geandar
ether
efor
eunaf
fect
edbyanel
ect
ri
cfi
eld.

I
oni
singEf
fectofRadi
ati
ons
Alphaparti
cleshavever
yhi
ghionisi
ngpower.Theyproducealargenumberofionsast
heypass
throughgasesduet othei
rsl
ow speedandhi ghcharge.Theirslow speedenabl
est
healpha
parti
clest
obei ncont
actwi
tht
argetatomsf
oralongerti
me.
Bet
apar
ti
cleshav
eloweri
oni
singpowerandpr
oducef
eweri
onsi
ngases.
Gammar
ayshav
ever
ylowi
oni
singpower
.

Radi
oact
iveDecayandHal
f-
Lif
e
Whenaradi
oacti
venucli
dedecay
s,anewnucl
i
dei
sfor
med.Asdi
si
ntegr
ati
onpr
oceeds,
fewerand
f
ewerunst
ableat
omsr emai
n.
TheTabl
ebel
owshowst
her
adi
oact
ivedecayf
orasampl
eof400gofi
odi
ne–131

Decayofi
odi
ne-
131
Time Mass(g)ofr
adi
oact
ivei
odi
ne
(day
s) r
emaining
0 400
8.
1 200
16.
2 100
24.
3 50
32.
4 25

Agr
aphoft
hedat
agi
veni
sshownal
ongsi
de.

From thegr
aphitcanbeseenthataf
terev
ery8.
1
dayst heamountofsubst
anceremaini
ngishal
f
theprevi
ousamount.
Thef
ract
ionsoft
heor
igi
nal
amountr
emai
ningaf
ter
:
5

Fr
om t
hegraph,i
tisalsoobser
vedthatt
heremainingamountnev
erreducest
ozer o.Theti
me
t
akenforthemasstoreducetohalft
heprevi
ousvalueisaconst
ant
,i.
e.,8.
1days.Thisconst
ant
v
aluei
sref
err
edt
oast
hehal
f-
li
fe.I
tisdenot
edbyt.
Thehal f-
li
feofar adioact
iveisotopeistheti
met akenforagivenmassornumberofnucli
dest o
decayt ohalfi
tsori
ginalmassornumber .
From thesampleof400gi odine–131gi v
enintheex ample,
theamountr
emai
ningaft
erthefi
rst
half
-li
fe(8.1days)willbe200g.Af t
erthesecondhalf-
li
fe(16.
2days)i
twil
lbe100g.Thiscanbe
i
ll
ustratedasshown.

Theamountr emai
ningaft
erthefir
sthal
f-
li
veishal
fthepr
evi
ousamount
.Ther
emai
ningamount
aft
ersuccessi
venucli
dedecaycanbeworkedoutbyusi
ngt
hefor
mula;

Remai
ningamount= ×or
igi
nalamount
,wher
eni
sthenumberofhal
f-
li
vesunder
gone.For

exampl
ether
emai
ningamountaf
ter24.
3day
s(3hal
f-
li
ves)i
s
Gi
vent
her
emai
ningamount
,theor
igi
nalamountcanal
sobedet
ermi
ned.Forexampl
e:i
f3gof
Lrwhosehal
f-l
i
fei
s8secondsr
emai
naf
terunder
goi
ngr
adi
oact
ivedecayf
or32seconds.

Al
ter
nat
ivel
y,t
heor
igi
nal
amountcanbef
oundusi
ngast
epbyst
epmet
hodt
hus;

Theor
igi
nal
amounti
s48g.

Eachradioacti
veisot
opedecaysati
tsownrat
eandtheref
orehasit
sownhal
f-l
i
fe.Hal
f-
li
fe
rangefr
om fracti
onofasecondtomil
li
onsofy
ear
s.Forexample:
6 ELECTROCHEMI

Theshorterthehal
f-l
i
fe,t
hef ast
ertherateofdecayofthenuclide.Thel
ongerthehal
f-
li
fe,t
he
sl
owertherateofdecayofthenucli
de.Therat
eofradi
oact
ivedecayisunaf
fect
edbyanychemical
orphy
sicalchange.
Thehal f-
li
feofr adioact
iveisotopesisoneoft hef actorsusedtodet erminet hei
rappli
cation.For
exampl e,carbon-14isusedt odeterminetheageofdeador ganicmat t
er.Thepr ocessisknownas
carbon-dating.Thecar boni nplantswhichi stakenupdur ingphotosy nthesiscontai
nsasmal l
porti
onofr adi
oactivecarbon-14.Whent heplantdi es,thecarbon-
14i nt hedeadpl antcont i
nues
decayinghencet heamountdecr eases.Carbon-
14hashal f-
li
feaofabout5, 600yearsthereforeby
determiningthecar boncontentinthedeadmat erialitismathematicall
ypossi bl
etodet er
mi nethe
ageoft hesampl e.
Sodi
um-
20wi
thahal
f-
li
feof0.
3secondsi
susedt
odet
ectl
eakagesbecausei
thasashor
thal
f-
li
fe.

Nucl
earReact
ions
Whenanal
phapar
ti
cleisemi
tt
edfr
om t
henucl
eus,
boththeat
omicnumberandthemassnumber
oft
henucl
i
dedecr
ease.Anewnucl
i
deisfor
medasrepr
esent
edbythef
oll
owingequat
ion

Theequat
ionabov
eisr
efer
redt
oasanucl
earequat
ion.
Thesum ofthemassnumberont heri
ghthandsi
deoft
heequat
ioni
sequalt
othemassnumber
ofthelef
thandside.Thesum ofprot
onnumbersontheri
ghthandsi
deequal
sthenumberof
prot
onsonthelef
thandsi
de.
Whenabetapart
icleisemitted,t
heat
omi
cnumberi
ncr
easesbyoneandt
hemassnumber
r
emainsconst
ant
.Thisisbecause:
(
i) Duri
ng bet
aemi ssi
on,aneut
ronspont
aneousl
ychangesi
nto apr
otonand emi
tsan
el
ectr
on.Thati
s:

Theposi
ti
vechar
gei
ncr
easesi
nthepr
ocess.
(
ii
)Themassoft
hepar
ti
clesemi
tt
edi
snegl
i
gibl
e.
Consi
dert
hef
oll
owi
ngnucl
i
des,
whi
chemi
tbet
apar
ti
cles.
7

Theemi ssi
onofgammar ayswhi
chisaf or
m ofenergyal
waysaccompaniesotherradioacti
ve
emissi
ons.Theyareproducedwhentheremaini
ngpart
icl
esi
nthenucl
eusre-or
gani
set hemselves
i
nto mor establ
earrangements.Gammar aysarenotshownwhenwr i
tingnuclearequations
becausetheyhavenoeffectonmassnumberandatomicnumberofanucl
i
de.
Forexampl
e:
236 141 92 1
U→
92 56
Ba+ 36Kr+30n +ener
gy

Radi
oact
iveDecaySer
ies.
Aradi
oacti
vedecayseri
esrepr
esent
sthesequenti
alandconti
nuousdi
sint
egr
ati
onofunst
abl
e
nucl
i
deuntil
astablenucl
i
deisfor
med.Forexamplestar
ti
ngwit
hthori
um–232.
Thef
oll
owi
ngser
iesi
sobt
ained;

n
I
nthi
sdecayser
ies,
nat
ural
decayendswhenst
abl
elead-
208i
sfor
med.Not
icet
hatt
he r
ati
osof
p
l
ead–208i sabout1.
5:1whi
chi
sint
hest
abl
eregi
on.Thi
sdecayser
iesi
sknownast
heThor
ium
decayser
ies.

Nucl
earFi
ssi
on
Nucl
earf
i oni
ssi sthespl
it
ti
ngpr
ocessaheavynucl
ideunder
goeswhenbombar
dedbyaf
ast
-
movi
ngneutr
on.
Thel ar
geunstabl
enucli
deabsorbsaneut
ronandi
mmediatel
yspl
it
supi
ntot
woapproximat
ely
equalf r
agmentstoget
herwithanumberofsmall
erpar
ticl
essuchasaneutr
on.Dur
ingthis
process,muchenergyi
sli
ber
ated.
Forex
ampl
e:
236 1 141 92 1
U+0n → 56
Ba+ 36Kr+3n
0
+ener
gy
92
Themassoft heproduct
saddedtogetherequalthemassoft
heor
igi
nalnucl
idepl
ust
hemassof
theneut
ron.Thethreeneut
ronsproducedf ur
therbombar
dmorenucleiandmoreneut
ronsar
e
for
med.Thisresul
tsi
nachainreact
ion.
Ener
gyisliber
atedduet othefactthatthetot
almassoft heproduct
sissl
ight
lyl
essthanthe
massoftheinit
ialnucl
ides.Thi
sdiff
erenceinmassisr adi
atedasenergy.Averysmal
llossin
massr
esult
sinanenor mousamountofener gybei
ngr
eleased.
Thisener
gycanbetappedandutil
isedtogener
ateelect
ri
calener
gyandotherfor
msofenergy
undercontr
oll
edcondi
ti
ons.Theenor mousheati
susedt oheatwat ert
oproducesteam whi
ch
thentur
nsturbi
nest
oproduceelect
ri
city
.Theenergyofanatomicbombi sduetonucl
earfi
ssi
on
ofurani
um–235.
Nucl
earFusi
on
Nuclearfusi
onoccurswhennucl
eicombinetogetherwhent heyaremadet ocoll
ideathi
gh
vel
ocityr
esult
ingi
nthefor
mati
onofaheavynucl
eusandreleaseofener
gy .
Somesub- at
omicpart
icl
essuchneut
ronsarealsorel
easeddur i
ngnuclearf
usi
on.Theener
gy
8 ELECTROCHEMI

r
eleasedaf
terf
usi
oncausesot
hernucl
i
det
ocol
l
ideandachai
nreact
ionoccur
s.Forexampl
e:

+ener
gy

Thesum ofmassnumber
sandatomicnumber
soft
hepr
oduct
sequalt
hesum ofmassnumber
s
andat
omicnumberoft
hereact
ant
s.
Theenergyr
eleaseddur
ingnucl
earf
usi
oncanbehar
nessedandconv
ert
edi
ntoot
herf
ormsof
ener
gysuchaselect
ri
cal
energy.
Thehy
drogenbombwor
ksont
hepr
inci
pleofnucl
earf
usi
on.
Nucl
earf
issi
onandf
usi
onar
esi
mil
ari
nthat
:
1.I
nbot
hcasesal
argequant
it
yofener
gyi
srel
eased.
2.Bot
hpr
ocessesr
esul
tsi
nchai
nreact
ions.
3.I
nbot
hcasessub-
atomi
cpar
ti
clessuchasneut
ronsaccompanyt
hepr
ocess.
4.Theener
gyrel
easedcanbehar
nessedandconv
ert
edi
ntoot
herf
ormsofusef
ulener
gysuchas
el
ect
ri
calener
gy.
5.Thelar
geamountofenergypr
oducedi
nbot
hreact
ionscanbev
erydest
ruct
ivewhenmi
sused
suchasinnucl
earwar
far
e.

Appl
i
cat
ionsofRadi
oact
ivi
ty
Besi
despr
oduct
ionofener
gy,
otherusesofr
adi
oact
ivi
tyi
ncl
udet
hef
oll
owi
ng:
Medi
calappl
i
cat
ions
- Usedtodestroycanceroustissuewhenapat i
enti
sex posedt
ocorrectdoseofradi
ati
on
fr
om radi
oacti
venucli
desuchasacobal t
–60andcaesium–137,i
tispossibl
etodestr
oy
cancer
ousgrowthwithoutseriousdamagetoot
hert
issuesoft
hepati
ent.
- St
eri
l
isat
ionofsur
gical
inst
rument
susi
nggammar
adi
ati
on.
- Radi
oact
iveiodi
ne(iodine–131)isusedi
npatient
swi
thdef
ect
ivet
hyr
oidt
oenabl
edoct
ors
tof
oll
owt hepathofiodinethr
oughthebody
.
- Usedt
omoni
torgr
owt
hinbonesandheal
i
ngoff
ract
ures.
- Forpr
ovi
dingpoweri
nhear
tpaceset
ter
s.
- Det
ect
ingl
eakagesi
nunder
groundwat
eroroi
lpi
peswi
thoutdi
ggi
ngt
hem out
.
Agr
icul
tur
alappl
icat
ions
Radi
oact
ivi
tymaybeusedi
nmoni
tor
ing:
- Photosynt
hesi
sandrel
atedpr
ocess;Car
bon(VI
)oxi
decontai
ningradi
oact
ivecarbon–14i
s
used,andthepat
hofthi
scar
boncanbef ol
l
owedduri
ngthegr owt
hoftheplant
.
- Absorpt
ionofphosphatef
ert
il
iser
s;r
adi
oact
ivephosphor
uscanbeusedt
odet
ermi
net
he
rat
eofabsorpt
ionofthef
ert
il
iser
.
Ot
heruses
- Pr
eser
vat
ionoff
oodbyex
posi
ngmi
cro-
organi
smst
ogammar
adi
ati
onwhi
chki
l
lst
hem.
- Gaugi
ngt
het
hicknessoft
hinmet
alandpapersheet
s.
- Measur
ingt
hel
evel
off
oodi
ncannedandpackedf
ood.
- Det
ermi
ningt
heageofar
cheol
ogi
cal
mat
eri
alsi
nfossi
l
sfr
om car
bon–14dat
ing.
- Manuf
act
ureofnucl
earweaponsandat
omi
cbombs.
9

Danger
sofRadi
oact
ivi
ty

Env
ironment
alPol
l
uti
on
Envi
ronmentalpol l
uti
onoccurswhenr adi
oacti
vemat er
ial
semitradi
ati
onintotheatmosphere.
Longter
m ex posuretolowdosagesoftheseradi
ati
onscancausegenet
icmutati
oninl
i
vingti
ssue
l
eadingtoanaemi a,bonecancerandot
herfor
msofcancer .
Disposalofnucl
earwast
eisofpar
ti
cul
arconcer
nsi
ncesomeoft
her
adi
oact
ivemat
eri
alshav
e
v
er ylonghalf
-l
if
e.
Test
ingofnucl
earweaponsi
ntheoceansal
socausesenvi
ronmentalpol
lut
ionsi
ncepl
ant
sand
ot
herl
i
v i
ngor
gani
smsmayt akei
ntheradi
oact
ivemat
eri
alsr
eleasedi
nt hewater
.
Whennotputi
ntopr
operuse,r
adi
oisot
opescanbeusedasweaponsofmassdest
ruct
ionasi
t
happenedi
ntheci
ti
esofHi
roshi
maandNagasaki,
Japandur
ingt
heSecondWorl
dWar.
Cont
rolofEnv
ironment
alPol
lut
ion
Env
ironmentalpoll
uti
oncanbecont rol
l
edbypr operuse,st
orageanddi
sposalofr
adi
oact
ive
materi
alsaswellasregul
archecksofequipmentwhichemitr
adiat
ions.

Rev
isi
onExer
cise

1. 2006Q4
(a) Compl
etet
henucl
earequat
ionbel
ow. (
1mar
k)
37 37
18
A+………→ 17B

(
b) (b)Stat
eone:
(i
)Useofr adi
oisot
opesi
nagricul
ture. (
1mar
k)
(i
i
)Dangerassociatedwi
thexposureofhumanbei
ngst
oradi
oisot
opes. (1
mar
k)

2. 2007Q14P1
(a)Di
sti
ngui
shbet
weennucl
earf
issi
onandnucl
earf
usi
on. (
2mar
ks)

(
b)Descr
ibehowsol
i
dwast
escont
aini
ngr
adi
oact
ivesubst
ancesshoul
dbedi
sposedof
.
(1
mark)

3. 2008Q24P1
(
a)Ar adi
oacti
vesubst
anceemi
tst
hreedi
ff
erentpar
ti
cles.Gi
vet
hesy
mbol
oft
hepar
ti
cl
ewi
th
thehi
ghestmass. (1
mark)

(
b)(
i)Fi
ndt
hev
aluesofZ1andZ2i
nthenucl
earequat
ionbel
ow. (
1mar
k)
10 ELECTROCHEMI

Z1
92
U+ 1
0
n →37
17
B + 1Z
40
2
Xe+21
0
n

(
ii
)Whatt
ypeofnucl
earr
eact
ioni
srepr
esent
edi
nrepr
esent
edi
nb(
i)abov
e?
(
1
mar
k)

4. 2009Q6dP2
Natur
all
yoccur
ri
ngur
ani
um consi
stoft
hreei
sot
opeswhi
char
eradi
oact
ive.
234 235 238
I
sotope U U U
Abundance 0.01% 0.72% 99. 27%
(
i)Whichofthesei
sot
opeshasthel
ongesthalf
-l
if
e?Gi
v er easons. (
1mar
k)

(
ii
)Cal
cul
atet
her
elat
iveat
omi
cmassofur
ani
um. (
2mar
ks)

235
(
ii
i)
92
Ui
sanal
phaemi
tt
er.I
fthepr
oductoft
hedecayoft
hisnucl
i
dei
sthor
ium (
Th)
,
Wr
it
eanucl
earequat
ionf
ort
hepr
ocess. (
1mar
k)

(
iv)St
ateoneuseofr
adi
oact
ivei
sot
opesi
nthepaperi
ndust
ry. (
2mar
ks)

5. 2010Q9P1
14 14
Car
bon-
14,
6
C,
isusedi
ncar
bondat
ing.I
tdecay
stof
orm ni
tr
ogen,
7
N
Thegr
aphbel
owshowst
heamountofcar
bon-
14l
efti
nasampl
eagai
nsti
tsagei
nyear
s.
11

(
a)Wr
it
eanucl
earequat
ionf
ort
hedecaypr
ocessofcar
bon-
14. (
1mar
k)

(
b)Fr
om thegraph,det
erminethe;
(
i)Half-
li
feofcarbon-14; (
1mar
k)
(
ii
)Percentageofcarbon-14i
nasampl
ewhoseagei
s1950y
ear
s.
(
1mar
k)

6. 2011Q2P1
(
a)Compl
etet
henucl
earequat
ionbel
ow: (
1mar
k)
131
I→13
53
1
54
I+_
___
___
_

131 131
(
b)Thehalf
-l
ifeof I i
s8day
s.Det
ermi hemassof I
net r
emai
ningi
f50gr
amsdecay
ed
53 53
for40days. (
1mar k)

(
c)Gi
veonehar
mful
eff
ectofr
adi
oisot
opes. (
1mar
k)

7. 2012Q9P1
120gofi odine-131hasahal
f-
li
feof8day
sdecay
sfor32day
s.Ont
hegr
idpr
ovi
ded,
plota
graphoft hemassofiodi
ne-131agai
nstt
ime. (
3
mar ks)

8. 2013Q8P1
Drawalabel
l
eddiagr
am t
oill
ust
rat
ehowal
pha,
bet
aandgammar
adi
ati
onscanbe
di
sti
ngui
shedfr
om eachot
her. (
3
marks)

9. 2013Q6P2
12 ELECTROCHEMI

(
a)Di
sti
ngui
shbet
weenaneut
ronandpr
oton. (
1mar
k)

(
b)Whati
smeantbyar
adioact
ivesubstance? (
1mar
k)
(
c)St
atet
wodanger
sassoci
atedwithradioact
ivesubst
ancei
ntheenv
ironment
. (
2mar
ks)

(
d)Thetwoisot
opesofhydrogen,deut
eri
um andt
ri
ti
um Tr
eactt
ofor
m el
ementyandneut
ron
par
ti
cles,
accor
dingt
ot heequati
onbelow;
a
2
1
D+ 3
1
T → bY +1
0
n

(
i)Whati
stheat
omi
c:
(
I) MassofY? (
1mar
k)
(I
I) NumberofY? (
1mar
k)

(
ii
)Whatnamei
sgi
vent
othet
ypeofr
eact
ionunder
gonebyt
hei
sot
opesofhy
drogen?
(
1mark)

(
e)(
i)Whatismeantbyhal f
-l
if
eofaradi
oacti
vesubst
ance? (
1mar k)
(
ii
)288gofar adioact
ivesubst
ancedecay
edto9gi n40day
s.Det
ermi
net
hehal
f-
li
feofthe
r
adioact
ivesubst
ance. (
2mar ks)

10. 2014Q8P1
(
a)Complet
ethenucl
earr
eact
ionbel
ow. (
1mar
k)
226
88
Q→ 222
86
P+

(
b)St
atet
wousesofr
adi
oisot
opesi
nheal
th. (
2mar
ks)

11. 2015Q19P1
Aradioacti
vesubstanceweighingM kgt ook1900y earsfortheori
ginal
masst
oreducet
o15
kg.Giventhatthehal
f-l
i
feoftheradioactiv
esubst anceis380y ear
s;
(a)Determinetheori
ginalmassoft heradioacti
vesubstance. (2marks)
(b)Statetwousesofradioacti
vi
tyinmedi cine. (1mark)

12. 2017P1Q2.
Calcul
atet
hev
aluesofXandYi
nthef
oll
owi
ngnucl
earequat
ion.
239 X
U→
92 Y
Th+2α+2β (
2mar
k)

13. 2017P2Q7.
Thedecayratesofasampleofar
adi
oisot
opeofbi
smut
hatdi
ff
erentt
imei
nter
val
sis
i
ndicat
edinthefol
lowi
ngtabl
e.
Ti
me(
hour
s) 0 5 10 15 20 25
13

Rateofdi
sint
egr
ati
oni
n 730 570 455 365 292 232
ss-1
count

(
a)
(
i)Drawagr aphofdi si
ntegrat
ionrateagai
nstti
me. (
3mar
ks)
(
ii
)Determinethehalf-l
i
feofbismut h. (
1mar
k)
(
ii
i)Whatwouldbet heeffectonthecurveifhal
ftheamountofsampl
eof
bi
smuthwer eused. (1
mark)

(
b)Radi
oacti
vit
yhasseveralappl
i
cat
ions.St
ateoneappl
i
cat
ionofr
adi
oact
ivi
tyi
n:
(
i)Medi ci
ne (1mar
k)
(
ii
)Agr i
cul
tur
e (1mar
k)
(
ii
i)Tr
acers (1mar
k)
(
iv)Nucl
earpowerstati
on (1mar
k)

(
c)St
atetwodanger
sassoci
atedwi
thr
adi
oact
ivi
ty. (
2
marks)

14. 2018P1Q19.
(
a)Givet
hesy
mbol
soft
het
wochar
gedpar
ti
clesemi
tt
edbyar
adi
oact
ivei
sot
ope.
(
2
mar
ks)
210
(
b)Ani ope 82Pbdi
sot sint
egr
atesbyemit
ti
ngtwobetapar
ti
cles.Det
ermi
net
hemass
numberandatomicnumberofther
esul
ti
ngnucl
i
de.
(1mark)

15. 2019P1Q22.
Thedi
agr
am i
nfi
gur
e6showsr
adi
ati
onsemi
tt
edbyar
adi
oact
ivesampl
e.

(
a)Identi
fyradiati
ons:
(i
)M ...
..
..
...
..
..
.. (
1mark)
(i
i)N....
..
...
..
..
..
..
. (
1mark)
(b)Explai
nwhatwoul dhappenwhenasheetofpaperi
spl
acedi
nthepat
hoft
hetwo
14 ELECTROCHEMI

r
adi
ati
ons. (
1mar
k)