What is an atom? Describe the makeup of it.

What experiment did Rutherford and Marsden carry out?

What happened? What did this show? How did this contradict the previous model?

What holds the nucleus together?

What are isotopes?

What is a radioactive element?

What are the two types of ionising radiation? What does it do?

What is background radiation? Name at least three sources.

What speed does decay occur at and what happens when it does decay?

What are the three types of nuclear radiation? Give the properties of each.

How far will alpha, beta and gamma travel from the source?

What is needed to stop each type of radiation?

What is a practical use of alpha and beta particles?

What is an alpha particle?

What are beta particles?

What is the symbol for an alpha particle?

What is the symbol for the beta particle?

What else can this sort of notation be useful for?

What does the amount of radiation emitted, or the activity, depend on?

Explain alpha, beta and gamma decay.

What do we mean by an unstable nucleus? How does it get out of this state?

What is the 'half life'?

What is a decay chain?

How is the rate of decay measured?

What do the effects of ionising radiation on living cells depend on?

How does ionising radiation radiation affect living cells? (general, high intensity and low intensity)

What is the most dangerous type of radiation?

What is the sievert (Sv)?

How can ionisation affect our body indirectly?

What is radiotherapy?

Give two other uses of radiation.

How can we use radiation to detect brain tumours?

What else can radioactive tracers be used for?

What is irradiation?

What is : 1) a hazard 2) a risk

What is contamination?

When is radioactive material considered safe? How long does this normally take?

What could be done following fallout from a nuclear explosion?

Give two precautions that can be taken by people working with radioactive isotopes?

How can energy be obtained from the nucleus of an atom? What are nuclear fuels?

Where does the energy come from in fission and fusion?

How is nuclear fission used to gain energy?

What happens if the chain reaction is not controlled? How is it controlled in a nuclear reactor?

What is low, intermediate and high level radioactive waste? How is each dealt with?

What form is energy released in in a nuclear reactor? What happens to the energy after that?

Give an example of nuclear fusion.

Give at least three advantages of fusion.

Why is it difficult to produce energy using nuclear fusion?

What equation defines the interchangeability of mass and energy?