CHAPTER 1

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1) The following are ionizing radiation, EXCEPT
A.
B.
C.
D.

X-ray
Gama-ray
Alpha-particle
UV radiation

Berikut adalah radiasi mengion,KECUALI

A.
B.
C.
D.

Sinaran X
Sinaran Gama
Zarah Alpha
Radiasi UV

2) All of the following are the common characteristic of ionising radiation, EXCEPT.
A.
B.
C.
D.

Penetrative
Energetic
Capable of ionising atoms / molecule of transverse media
Energy is transferred onto traversed media

Semua yang berikut merupakan ciri biasa sinaran mengion, KECUALI.

A.
B.
C.
D.

Penembusan
Bertenaga
Berupaya untuk atom mengion / molekul media yang melintang
Tenaga dipindahkan ke media yang dilalui

3) The difference between electromagnetic and particulate radiation is due to

A.
B.
C.
D.

wavelength
frequency
mass
energy

Perbezaan antara sinaran elektromagnet dan zarah adalah disebabkan oleh

A.
B.
C.
D.

panjang gelombang
frekuensi
jisim
tenaga

4) The common unit used to express the energy of radiation is

A.
B.
C.
D.

Joule
Calorie
Curie
Electron Volt (eV)

Unit yang biasa digunakan untuk menyatakan tenaga sinaran adalah

A. Joule
B. Calorie
C. Curie
D. Electron Volt (eV)
5) The energy of gamma-ray emitted by
radiation expressed in MeV?
A.
B.
C.
D.

137

CS is 662 keV. What is the energy of the

0.662
6.620
66.20
662

Tenaga gamma- ray yang dipancarkan oleh

sinaran apabila dinyatakan dalam MeV ?
A.
B.
C.
D.

137

CS Cs ialah 662 keV . Apakah tenaga

0.662
6.620
66.20
662

6) The following radiation produces more ion-pairs when traversing through a

volume of air
A.
B.
C.
D.

gamma-ray
x-ray
beta-particle
alpha-particle

Radiasi yang berikut menghasilkan lebih banyak ion-pasangan apabila

menyeberangi melalui isipadu udara
A.
B.
C.
D.

gamma-ray
x-ray
zarah-beta
zarah-alpha

7) The beta particles are the electron that originate from

A.
B.
C.
D.

orbital electron
outside nucleus
nucleus
traversed media

Zarah beta elektron berasal dari

A.
B.
C.
D.

elektron orbit
nukleus luar
nucleus
media yang dilalui

8) What will happen when you are x-rayed?

A.
B.
C.
D.

A fraction of the radiation is absorbed by the body system

The x-ray is 100% absorbed by the body
The external part of the body absorbed 100% of the radiation
The x-ray will interact with body system to form radioactive materials

Apa yang akan berlaku apabila anda di x-ray?

A. Satu pecahan radiasi diserap oleh tubuh badan
B. x-ray diserap 100% oleh badan
C. Bahagian luaran badan menyerap 100% sinaran
D. x-ray akan berinteraksi dengan sistem badan untuk membentuk bahan radioaktif
9) Which of the following are TRUE about ionizing radiation?
(i) Originates from the nucleus of radioactive material except x-ray
(ii) Highly energetic
(iii)Can cause ionization when traversed through materials
(iv)
Readily interact with material it traversed
A.
B.
C.
D.

(i) and (ii) only

(i), (ii) and (iii) only
(i) and (iv) only
(i), (ii), (iii) and (iv)

Yang manakah di antara berikut adalah BENAR mengenai sinaran mengion?

(I) Berasal daripada nukleus bahan radioaktif kecuali x-ray
(Ii) Sangat bertenaga

(Iii) Boleh menyebabkan pengionan apabila melalui bahan-bahan

(Iv) Dengan mudah berinteraksi dengan bahan yang dilaluinya
A. (i) dan (ii) sahaja
B. (i), (ii) dan (iii) sahaja
C. (i) dan (iv) sahaja
D. (i), (ii), (iii) dan (iv)
10) The alpha particle is identical to the nucleus of
A.
B.
C.
D.

hydrogen
helium
silicon
carbon

Zarah alfa adalah sama dengan nukleus

A. hidrogen
B. helium
C. silikon
D. karbon
11) The relative mass of the beta particle is equivalent to
A.
B.
C.
D.

electron
mass of alpha particle
mass of neutron
mass of proton

Jisim relatif zarah beta adalah bersamaan dengan

A. elektron
B. jisim zarah alpha
C. jisim neutron
D. jisim proton
12) The relative mass of the alpha particle is
A.
B.
C.
D.

two times mass of neutron

equal to mass of proton
about 8, 000 times mass electron
equivalent to mass of neutron

Jisim relatif zarah alfa adalah

A. dua kali jisim neutron
B. sama dengan jisim proton
C. kira-kira 8, 000 kali jisim elektron
D. bersamaan dengan jisim neutron
13) Which of the following radiation travels the shortest range?
A. beta-particle
B. x-ray
C. gamma-ray

D. alpha-particle
Antara radiasi berikut yang manakah bergerak dalam julat yang singkat?
A. zarah- beta
B. sinaran -x
C. sinaran- gamma
D. zarah- alpha
14) Nucleon, a particle making up the nucleus of an atom consist of the following
subatomic fundamental particles
A.
B.
C.
D.

Electrons
Protons
Proton and nucleus
Electrons, protons and neutrons

Nukleon, zarah yang membentuk nukleus atom terdiri daripada zarah asas subatom
berikut
A. Elektron
B. Proton
C. Proton dan nukleus
D. Elektron, proton dan neutron
15) What is the term used to denote elements with the same atomic number, but
with different atomic masses?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Avogadro
Isotope
Nuclide
Radionuclide

Apakah istilah yang digunakan untuk merujuk kepada unsur-unsur dengan nombor
atom yang sama, tetapi dengan jisim atom yang berbeza?
A. Avogadro
B. Isotop
C. Nuclide
D. Radionuklid

16) In the nuclide symbolized as

A.
B.
C.
D.

Number
Number
Number
Number

of
of
of
of

A
Z

X, what does A present?

electrons
proton and neutron
protons
neutrons

Dalam nuklid yang dilambangkan sebagai

A. Bilangan elektron
B. Bilangan proton dan neutron
C. Bilangan proton
D. Bilangan neutron

X, A adalah mewakili apa?

17) From the information in questions 16, how many neutrons are in the nucleus of
nuclide A?
A.
B.
C.
D.

A
Z
A-Z
A+Z

Dari maklumat dalam soalan 16, berapa banyak neutron dalam nukleus nuklid A?
A. A
B. Z
C. A-Z
D. A + Z
18) How does the number of A of a radioactive atom affected when alpha-paticles
are emitted during decay process?
A.
B.
C.
D.

No change of A
A-1
A-2
A-4

Bagaimanakah bilangan A atom radioaktif dipengaruhi apabila zarah- alpha

dihasilkan semasa proses pereputan?
A. Tiada pertukaran A
B. A-1
C. A-2
D. A-4

19) How does the number of A of a radioactive atom affected when beta-paticles
are emitted during decay process?
A.
B.
C.
D.

No change of A
A-1
A-2
A-4

Bagaimanakah bilangan A atom radioaktif dipengaruhi apabila zarah-beta dihasilkan

semasa proses pereputan?
A. Tiada pertukaran A
B. A-1
C. A-2
D. A-4
20) The 23892U is one of the heaviest natural radionuclide. What is the most likely
decay process of this radionuclide ?
A.
B.
C.
D.
238

Beta+1
Beta-1
Alpha
Electron capture

U merupakan salah satu daripada radionuclide semulajadi yang terberat.

Apakah kemungkinan proses pereputan untuk radionuclide ini?
92

A.
B.
C.
D.

Beta+1
Beta-1
Alpha
Penangkapan elekron

21) The radionuclide of cobalt is represented as Co-60. What does the 60 represent?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Number
Number
Number
Number

of
of
of
of

neutrons
neutrons and protons
electrons
electrons, protons and neutrons

Radionuclide Cobalt dilambangkan sebagai C0-60. Apakah yng diwakili oleh 60?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Nombor
Nombor
Nombor
Nombor

neutron
neutron dan proton
elektron
elektron, proton dan neutron

22) The radionuclide of cobalt is represented as Co-60. What does the 60 represent?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Number
Number
Number
Number

of
of
of
of

neutrons
neutrons and protons
electrons
electrons, protons and neutron

Radionuclide Cobalt dilambangkan sebagai C0-60. Apakah yng diwakili oleh 60?
A. Nombor neutron

B. Nombor neutron dan proton

C. Nombor elektron
D. Nombor elektron, proton dan neutron
23) The definition of half-life of radioactive materials is..
A. the times taken
activity
B. the times taken
original activity
C. the times taken
D. the times taken
activity

for radioactive material to disintegrate to half of its original

for radioactive material to disintegrate to quarter of its
for radioactive material to completely disintegrate
for radioactive material to disintegrate to of its original

Definisi separuh-hayat bahan radioaktif ialah

A. masa yang diambil untuk bahan radioaktif hancur separuh daripada aktiviti
asalnya
B. masa yang diambil untuk bahan radioaktif hancur dengan suku aktiviti asalnya
C. masa yang diambil untuk bahan radioaktif untuk benar-benar hancur
D. masa yang diambil untuk bahan radioaktif hancur untuk aktiviti asalnya
24) The formula governing the decay of a radioactive material is
A. At = Ao e
B. At = Ao e
C. Ao = At e
D.
Ao = At e

t
- t
- t
-/t

Formula yang mengawal pereputan bahan radioaktif ialah

A. At = Ao e
B. At = Ao e
C. Ao = At e
D.
Ao = At e

t
- t
- t
-/t

25) What is the SI unit to express activity of radiation emitted by a radiation source?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Curie
mCi
Bq
Ci

Apakah unit SI untuk menyatakan aktiviti radiasi yang dikeluarkan oleh sumber
radioaktif?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Curie
mCi
Bq
Ci

26) The SI unit for absorbed dose is

A.
B.
C.
D.

Rem
Rad
Gray (Gy)
Sievert (Sv)

Unit Si untuk dos terserap ialah

A.
B.
C.
D.

Rem
Rad
Gray (Gy)
Sievert (Sv)

27) 10 rem is equivalent to

A.
B.
C.
D.

0.1 Sv
1 Sv
10 Sv
100 Sv

10 rem bersamaan
A.
B.
C.
D.

0.1 Sv
1 Sv
10 Sv
100 Sv

28) The absorbed dose of a gamma radiation field is 2.5 Gy per hour. What is the
equivalent dose of exposure?
A.
B.
C.
D.

2.5 mSv per hour

2.5 Sv per hour
10mSv per hour
10 Sv per hour

Dos yang diserap daripada kawasan radiasi gamma ialah 2.5 Gy sejam. Apakah dos yang
sama dengan pendedahan ?
A. 2.5 mSv per jam
B. 2.5 Sv sejam
C. 10mSv sejam
D. 10 Sv sejam

29) One hundred rem is equivalent to..?

A.
B.
C.
D.

1 Sv
10 Sv
10 Gy
100 Sv

100 rem bersamaan

A.
B.
C.
D.

1 Sv
10 Sv
10 Gy
100 Sv

30) What is the equivalent dose of an alpha particle with an absorbed dose of 1
mGy?
A.
B.
C.
D.

10
20
10
20

mSv per hour

mSv per hour
mSv
mSv

Apakah dos yang sama dengan zarah alfa dengan dos terserap adalah 1 mGy ?
A. 10 mSv per jam
B. 20 mSv per jam
C. 10 mSv
D. 20 mSv

SUBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
1. Ionising radiation is an agent that can cause ionization when traversing through
air or other media.
a) What is the meaning of ionization?
-Ionisation is a process in which an atom will lose its electron at the outer
orbit as a result of receiving energy more than the bonding energy of the
electron to the positively charge nucleus of the atom
b) What happens to air molecules surrounding the path of ionising radiation?
-The air molecules that receives energy more than the bonding energy of
the external electron to the atoms nucleus will be ionized. Thus,
producing positive and negatives ions known as ion pairs. The rest of the
molecules that receive energy less than the said bonding energy will be
excited. The excited atom will immediately experience de-excitation by
emitting radiation, which is non-ionised.
c) What does -particles causes massive ionization as compared to -particles?
-An alpha particle is a helium atom ( 42He2+) consist of 4 nucleons, i.e. 2
protons and 2 neutrons. The proton and neutron of the same mass or size
is equivalent to 1850 x 4 bigger than electron ( -particle is beam of
electrons). In addition, the 2+ charge of -particle as compared to 1charge of electron, make it more powerful agent for ionization to occur
with the traversed media atoms. Both factors will make the -particle
more powerful to cause ionization than -particle.
2. Atoms are the building block of materials. Atoms of the respectives elements are
made up of 3 basic fundamental particles.
a) Name the THREE basic fundamental particles.
-Proton, neutron and electron
b) Describe THREE basic properties of those fundamental particles.
Proton- positively charged, mass is 1 amu where 1 amu is equivalent to
1.6 x 10-27 kg and the relative mass to electron is 1850 times more massive
Neutron- has no charge, mass is equivalent to proton and the particle will
not be repelled by positively charged nucleus of any atom.
Electron- negatively charged, the mass is 0.055 amu and relative mass to
proton and neutron is 1850 less massive. Electron is always on the move
at specific orbit/orbital surrounding nucleus of an atom.
c) Sketch the atomic structure of Helium that consist of 2 protons, 2 neutrons and 2
electrons.

3. The 6027Co is one of the common -ray emitting source for various industrial
applications such as in nucleonic gauging and industrial radiography. The
radioactive source decays to a stable nuclide 6028Ni by emitting -particle and -ray.
(a) Determine the number of nucleons, proton and neutrons in 6027Co.
-Number of proton 27, number of nucleon 60 and number of neutron 33.
(b) Determine number of nucleons, proton and neutron in 6028Ni.
-Number of proton 28, number of nucleon 60 and number of neutron 34.
(c) Following the -1decay of 6027Co, a nuclear transition will take place what happen
to the 6028Ni after emitting ray.
-No nuclear transformation occurs to the nickel radionuclide after ray
emission. The emission of ray will take the nickel radionuclide more
stable.
(d) Write a balanced equation to describe the decay of 6027Co
- The nuclear decay balance equation is 6027Co 6028 Ni +

0
-1

4. Determine the decay constant () for the following radionuclides.

The following equation should be used, = In 2/t1/2 = 0.693/t1/2
(a) Cs-137 (half-life = 30 years)
= (0.693/30)y-1 =0.0231y-1
(b) Co-60 (half-life = 5.3 years)
= (0.693/5.3)y-1
(c) Ir-192 (half-life = 74.5 years)
= (0.693/74.5)y-1

5. Radioactive material consist of atoms with unstable nucleus. The emission of

ionising radiation is the way the unstable nucleus achieve their stability. The process
is known as nuclear disintegration. The rate of nuclear disintegration is a factor of
time.
(a) What do you understand about half-life?
-Half-life is the time for a radioactive material to decay or to disintegrate
to half of its original activity.
(b) How does the half-life of a radioactive material determined?
-The half-life of a radioactive is determined by counting at known time
interval. The logarithm of the original activity per present activity of the
radionuclide then plotted against time. The straight line may be obtained
from the plot. The gradient of the plot is equivalent to which is equal to
0.693/t1/2. The t1/2 can then be calculated.
(c) What is the activity of Co-60 used in gauging of metal thickness after 2.5 years?
The original activity is 20mCi (half-life of Co-60 is 5.3 years).

At = Ao e-t
where, Ao = 20mCi, t = 2.5 years
= ln2/t1/2 = 0.693/5.3 = 0.132y-1
At = 20o e-0.132 x 2.5 = 20 x 0.72 = 14.2mCi
6. Apart from occupational radiation exposure, radiation workers are also likely to be
exposed to natural radiation.
(a) What term is used to describe the radiation from the natural environment?
-Background radiation

(b) Give TWO examples of natural radiation source to which man is exposed
-Cosmic radiation and naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM).
(c) Why does the level of radiation exposure be greater inside of some buildings
than in open spaces?
-From the radioactive materials that constituted within the construction
materials of the building.
7. (a) What do you understand about radioactive material?
-Radioactive materials are materials constituted of atoms with unstable
nucleus, which will disintegrate by emitting ionising radiation in order to
archive the stability.
(b) Radioactive material can either be naturally available or man-made. Give
TWO example of man-made radioactive material?
-The Co-60 and Cs-137 are example of man-made radioactive materials.
(c) How can man-made radioactive materials be produced or generated?
-Radioactive materials may be produced by using a neutron generator
such as nuclear reactor. The material to be made radioactive will expose
to neutron flux. Neutrons will be absorbed into the nucleus of the material
and be part of the new nucleus. The addition of new nucleon into the
nucleus will cause the instability of the nucleus and form radioactive
material.
(d) Give TWO examples of applications for man-made radioactive materials?
Two application of man-made radioactive mateials:
-Thickness gauge
-Industrial radiography

8. Determine the number of disintegration per second and express to the nearest
multiple (or submultiple) unit of Bq for the following activities:
(a) 1.0 nCi

= 3.7 x 1010 Bq

= 37 GBq

(b) 1.0 Ci

= 0.1 x 3.7 x 1010 Bq

= 3.7 GBq

(c) 100 mCi = 10-9 x 3.7 x 1010 Bq

(d) 1.0 cI

= 10-9 x 3.7 x 1010 Bq

= 37 kBq
= 37 Bq

9. (a) Define what are absorbed dose and effective dose?

-Absorbed dose (D) is the amount of energy in unit Joule imparted to
matter by ionising radiation per unit mass (Joule per kg). The unit is Gray
(Gy).
-Effective dose (HE) is a measure of harm rather than true dose, is
equivalent to dose equivalent, H, and tissue weighting factor wt. The unit
is Sievert (Sv).
(b) Annual dose limit (ADL) of a radiation worker is 50mSv per year. What is the
ADL expressed in Sv?
-Annual dose limit (ADL) = 50 x 10-3 Sv = 0.05 Sv
(c) Express the absorbed dose from -particle of 5mGy dose equivalent (in unit
Sv) where the weighting factor of radiation is 20.
- H = D x WR = 5 x 20 mSv = 0.1 Sv
(d) Annual dose limit (ADL) of a radiation worker is 50mSv per year. What is the
ADL expressed in Sv per Hour? (Given one year has 50 weeks and there are 40
working hours per week)
- 50 mSv per year = (50x1000)/(40x50) = 25Sv per hour
10. Describe how the following ionising radiation interacts when traversing through
media.
(a) Alpha and beta particle
-Alpha particle will cause massive ionisation and excitation of the atom of
traversed media sited along the path of the ionising radiation. In air,
about 70,000 ion pair are produced along the radiation path.
-Beta particle will lose energy in the same manner as the alpha particle
but relatively less massive than alpha particle due to its mass, which is
about 8,000 times less than alpha particle. The total ion pairs produced
along much longer path than particle is about 7,000.
(b) Gamma and x-radiations
(i) Photoelectric effect. The electromagnetic radiation will transfer all its energy to
an electron at the outer orbit of the atom constitution of the media causing the
ejection of the electron out of the atoms orbit. The electron will travel and causing

further ionization until completely stopped with energy equivalent to energy of the
electromagnetic radiation.
(ii) Compton effect. The electromagnetic radiation will transfer a fraction of its
energy to an electron in orbit of the traversed media atom and also resulted in the
injection of the electron out of the orbit. The electromagnetic radiation with the
remaining energy will continue its travel within the media
(iii) Pair production effect. The electromagnetic radiation with energy more than
1022keV will interact with traverse media through pair production. The interaction
will cause emission of two -rays at two opposite directions with each having
energy of 511keV.