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Science 10 - Radiation Review
1. The word _______________ is a general, unspecific term that can refer to sever types of things.
_______________ radiation includes visible light, X-rays, and heat.
2. _______________ light consists of all the colours of the rainbow (R O Y G B I V).
3. A _______________ is the effect of electromagnetic radiation (specifically _______________ light) on the
skin.
4. Invisible _______________ can be used to make photographs to show if bones are broken.
8. Radio waves have _______________ wavelengths and _______________ frequencies. On the other end of
the spectrum, X-rays and Gamma Rays have short wavelengths and high frequencies. Red light has a
longer wavelength than Blue light. Except for visible light, all electromagnetic radiation is invisible.
9. The higher the frequency of the radiation, the greater its amount of _______________. This is why X Rays
and Gamma rays are dangerous to living things: they have enough energy to damage cells.
10. Atoms that emit radiation from their nuclei are said to be _______________. When an unstable nucleus
emits radiation, it is said to undergo radioactive _______________.
11. There are three types of radiations that radioactive nuclei normally emit: _______________ radiation,
_______________ radiation, and _______________ radiation. Radiation can be detected using an
instrument called a _______________ Counter.
12. Alpha particles are like a _______________ nucleus. They consist of two _______________ and two
_______________. They are the heaviest but least penetrating.
13. Beta particles are like high energy _______________. When a nucleus undergoes beta decay, a neutron is
converted to a _______________ and an _______________. The _______________ is emitted as a beta
particle, but the _______________ remains in the nucleus. The atomic number of an atom undergoing beta
decay, therefore, will always _______________ by one. The _______________ number will not change.
14. _______________ rays have no mass and travel at the speed of _______________. They are a form of
_______________ radiation. They are the _______________ penetrating.
15. The sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus is called the _______________ number.
16. All atoms of the same element have the same _______________ number, but can have different
_______________ numbers. Atoms of the same element that have different mass numbers are called
_______________.
17. Carbon-13 has _______________ protons and _______________ neutrons. The "13" stands for the
_______________ number. Carbon-14 has _______________ protons and _______________ neutrons.
18. The type of radioactive decay that does not give off a particle is called _______________ decay. After the
nucleus has undergone this sort of decay, however, it is more _______________.
19. Alpha and beta decay always results in new type of _______________ being formed. A new type of nucleus
being formed is called a _______________ _______________.
20. When a nucleus goes through alpha decay, its mass number _______________ by _______________ units.
21. The _______________ of a sample is the number of nuclei that undergo radioactive decay per second. It is
measured in units called _______________ (Bq).
22. The activity of a sample of a radioactive isotope _______________ with time, since there are less nuclei left
in the sample to decay. However, the rate of decay for any radioactive isotope is _______________.
23. The time that it takes for 50% of the nuclei in a radioactive sample to decay is called _______________.
This time is the _______________ regardless of the starting amount of the radioactive isotope. For
example, if you start with 96 grams of radioactive Thorium (which has a half-life of 24 days), after 24 days
you would have _____ grams left, after 48 days you would have _____ grams left, after 72 days (which is
equal to three half-lifes) you would have _____ grams left, and so on.
24. The total amount of radiation that strikes you from all sources outside and inside you is known as the
_______________ radiation, and there is very little that you can do about it.
25. Alpha, beta, gamma, X-rays, and ultraviolet radiation are all very _______________, as they can knock
electrons off of atoms (forming charged atoms called ions). For this reason, these types of radiation are
called _______________ radiation.
26. Ionizing radiation can cause changes in your DNA! These changes are called _______________, which can
cause normal cell division to go "out of control" and thus cause _______________.
27. The effects of ionizing radiation doses is measured using the _______________ (which measures the
amount of energy that the radiating transfers) and the _______________ (which measures the effect of
radiation on living things). One gray of beta or gamma radiation is equivalent _____ Sv in its effect on living
things, but one gray of alpha radiation is equal to ____ Sv. You should get exposed to no more than
_______ Sv of radiation per year.
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28. To protect yourself from radiation, use sunscreen to block _______________ rays, and keep your distance
from ionizing radiation, as well as minimize the amount of _______________ you spend in the presence of
radiation.
29. Radiation is useful in medicine, as _______________ can be used to show broken bones or decaying teeth.
The pictures take using X-rays are called _______________. Bones appear lighter on radiographs because
X-rays are _______________ by bones before they can expose the film.
30. Radioactive isotopes can be used to track the flow of blood through a patient to show, for example, a
clogged coronary artery. The radioactive isotopes used emit _______________ rays that can be detected
using special cameras..
31. Radiation is used to treat certain disorders of the _______________ gland (a gland near the base of your
neck that releases the hormone thyroxin, which speeds up cell metabolism). Radioactive iodine-131 is
injected into the person. It travels to the thyroid gland, where it emits _______________ particle to destroy
part of the overactive thyroid gland.
32. Some _______________ can be treated using radiation. For example, bone cancer can be treated by
injecting radioactive strontium-89 into the patient's blood. Bones absorb the strontium just like they normally
would calcium, and the beta emissions from the strontium-89 kill the cancer cells. Radiation "guns" that emit
X-rays or gamma rays can also be aimed right at the tumor to kill the cancer. Unfortunately, radiation
treatment also effects _______________ cells, and so patients often become very sick during the course of
treatment.
33. _______________ showed that mass and energy are related by the famous equation E = mc2, where "c"
stands for the speed of _______________. This equation says that a little bit of _______________ can be
converted into a lot of _______________.
34. When a large nucleus decays into two or more pieces, this is called nuclear _______________. Uranium,
for example, can be split by firing _______________ at uranium nuclei. In the process, some of the mass
of the uranium's decay products is converted into large amounts of _______________. The fission of
uranium also produces more neutrons that can go on to cause similar fission reactions to take place in
surrounding cells. This is called a _______________, because some of the products of the reaction go on to
cause more reactions to occur. Fission reactions like this one are used to power nuclear _______________
(and atomic _______________). To get a chain reaction to proceed, you need a certain mass of fissionable
material. This amount is called the _______________ mass. If there is enough of the fissionable material
around, the chain reaction can be _______________, resulting in an explosion.
35. A nuclear reactor uses a _______________ fission chain reaction to produce energy. In a reactor,
_______________ are used to slow down neutrons so that they can strike other nuclei and keep the chain
reaction going. Heavy water (deuterium oxide) is often used as a moderator. Fuel rods made of
_______________ are separated by _______________ rods (which control the chain reaction) made usually
of cadmium or boron, which absorb excess neutrons, and can prevent a reactor meltdown. The energy
release by the fission reaction is used to heat water to make steam to drive turbines to produce
_______________.
36. Nuclear reactors produce a lot of energy and are useful where there are no other sources of electricity. They
also don't pollute the air. However, they are expensive, only last about 35 years, produce toxic nuclear
_______________ that can be dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years, and can cause terrible
damage if there is an accident causes a reactor _______________ like there was in 1986 at Chernobyl.
37. Nuclear fusion is a different type of reaction. In nuclear fusion, _______________ nuclei are fused together
to form _______________ nuclei. In the process, a great deal of energy can be made. This is the type of
reaction that takes place within the sun and stars, as well as within hydrogen bombs. A typical nuclear
fusion reaction fuses _______________ atoms together.
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