Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Q1.
Name:____________________________
The diagram below shows a method of controlling the thickness of paper produced at
a paper mill. A radioactive source which emits beta radiation is placed on one side of the
paper and a radiation detector is placed on the other.
(a)
How will the amount of radiation reaching the detector change as the paper gets
thicker?
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.....................................................................................................................................
(1)
(b)
(i)
why a radioactive source which emits alpha () radiation could not be used for this
application.
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...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................
(1)
(ii)
why a radioactive source which emits gamma () radiation could not be used for this
application.
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...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................
(1)
iii)
why a radioactive source which emits beta () radiation can be used for
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this application.
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(2)
(Total 5 marks)
Q2.
(a)
The diagram shows what can happen when the nucleus of a uranium atom
absorbs a neutron.
(i)
(ii)
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(2)
(iii)
How does the mass number of an atom change when its nucleus absorbs a
neutron?
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(1)
Total 4 marks
Q3.
(a)
As part of its life cycle, a star changes from being a protostar to a main
sequence star.
Explain the difference between a protostar and a main sequence star.
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(2)
(b)
The early Universe contained only atoms of hydrogen. The Universe now contains
atoms of over one hundred different elements.
Explain how the different elements now contained in the Universe were formed.
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(3)
(Total 5 marks)
Page 3
Q4.
(a)
The chart gives the number of protons and neutrons within the nuclei of 7
different atoms, A G.
(b)
Radium-226 is a radioactive isotope that decays into radon gas by emitting alpha
particles.
The decay can be represented by the equation below.
(i)
Complete the equation by writing the correct number in each of the boxes.
(2)
Page 4
(ii)
(c)
In 1927, a group of women who had been employed to paint watch faces with a
luminous paint sued their former employer over the illnesses caused by the paint.
The women had been told that the paint, which contained radium, was harmless.
The company owners and the scientists working for the company knew that radium
was harmful and took precautions to protect themselves from the radiation. The
women were given no protection.
What important issue did the treatment of the women by the company owners and
scientists raise?
Draw a ring around your answer.
economic
environmental
ethical
social
(d)
In the 1920s, many people, including doctors, thought that radium could be used as
a treatment for a wide range of illnesses. Medical records that suggested radium
could be harmful were generally ignored. When some of the women who had used
the luminous paint died, their deaths were not blamed on radium.
Suggest a reason why the evidence suggesting that radium was harmful was
generally ignored.
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........................................................................................................................
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(1)
(Total 9 marks)
Page 5
Q5.
The table gives information about some of the radioactive substances released into
the air by the explosion.
Radioactive
substance
(i)
Half-life
Type of radiation
emitted
Iodine-131
8 days
Caesium-134
2 years
beta
Caesium-137
30 years
beta
(ii)
What is a beta particle and from which part of an atom is a beta particle emitted?
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(1)
(iii)
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(iv)
(Total 11 marks)
Page 7
Page 8
M1.
(a)
decrease
for 1 mark
1
(b)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
[5]
M2.
(a)
(i)
(nuclear) fission
accept fision providing clearly not fusion
1
(ii)
(iii)
increases by 1
or goes up to 236
1
Page 9
M3.
(a)
a protostar is at a lower temperature
or
a protostar does not emit radiation /energy
1
(b)
by (nuclear) fusion
accept nuclei fuse (together)
nuclear fusion and fission negates this mark
1
of hydrogen to helium
1
[5]
Page 10
M4.
(a)
BEG
all 3 required and no other
any order
1
(b)
(i)
222
1
86
1
(ii)
4800
allow 1 mark for obtaining 3 half-lives
2
(c)
ethical
1
(d)
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[9]
M5.
(a)
(i)
3 fewer neutrons
accept fewer neutrons
accept different number of neutrons
do not accept different number of electrons
1
(ii)
(iii)
32 (days)
allow 1 mark for clearly obtaining 4 half-lives
2
(iv)
[6]
Page 12