MC PAPER

Surname Initial(s)

Signature

American Academy Larnaca

Year 5 Test
Double Science
Physics
Topic P2.11: Putting radiation to use
Monday 16 February 2008
Time: 20 minutes

MC PAPER 1 Turn over

MC PAPER
Using radioactivity in hospitals

The radioactive materials used in hospitals have different activities.

The rays emitted also vary in penetrating power.

1. Which graph best shows how the activity from a radioactive source changes with time?

2. The diagram shows the effect of parts of the body on the radiation from four radioactive
sources.

Which source gives out alpha particles only?

MC PAPER 2 Turn over

MC PAPER

3. Which of the following could be emitted from a nucleus during radioactive decay?

A gamma rays
B X-rays
C ultrasound
D atoms

4. Food and medical instruments can be sterilized using gamma rays.

Gamma rays are harmless once they have been absorbed because they

A are just energy

B do not weigh much
C travel slowly
D only have a small charge

5. The position of a leak of fuel from an underground pipe can be traced using radioactivity.

The type of radiation used is

A X-rays
B Gamma rays
C alpha particles
D beta particles

MC PAPER 3 Turn over

MC PAPER

6. Imagine you have 32 g of a radioactive material. The half-life of this material is 6 hours.
After how many hours will only 4 g of this radioactive material be left?

A 8
B 16
C 18
D 48

Neutrons

Neutrons are one part of an atom. The other parts are electrons and protons.

60
7. The number of neutrons in an atom of 27Co is

A 27
B 33
C 60
D 87

8. When dealing with radioactive substances there are possible dangers.

Which statement is correct?

A Beta-particles can pass through skin and damage cells

B Gamma-radiation is more dangerous than alpha or beta because it has a longer half-life
C Materials that emit only alpha-particles must be kept in thick lead containers
D Radioactive materials are safe to handle after two half-lives

MC PAPER 4 Turn over

MC PAPER
Isotopes
The word ‘isotopes’ is used to describe different types of atoms of the same element.

Alex found that the number (N) of isotopes shown in textbooks has increased.
The graph shows how N has changed with time.

9. Four students joined the points in different ways.

Which graph does not show more isotopes than might be known at a particular time?

MC PAPER 5 Turn over

MC PAPER
10. The four students made statements about the data Alex found. All four statements could be
correct. Which person has made a statement which must be correct?

A Archie
B Bas
C Carla
D Dev

11. The atoms of two isotopes of an element have

A different atomic numbers

B the same number of neutrons
C different numbers of protons
D the same number of electrons

Uses of Radioactivity

12. Strawberries exposed to gamma radiation will keep fresh longer than untreated strawberries.
This is because the gamma radiation

A heats the strawberries

B makes the strawberries glow in the dark
C kills the bacteria on the strawberries
D splits the atoms in the strawberries

MC PAPER 6 Turn over

MC PAPER

13. Which type of radiation is used to destroy cancer cells?

A Gamma radiation
B Alpha radiation
C Microwave radiation
D Neutron radiation

14. Alpha particles are used in some smoke detectors. This is because alpha particles have

A High kinetic energy

B Low mass
C Low chemical energy
D High ionizing ability

15. Which row of the table is correct for gamma rays?

MC PAPER 7 Turn over

MC PAPER
Radioactivity Measurements

Dave’s teacher measures the count rate of a radioactive source over a period of time.
Here is a graph of the results.

16. What is the count rate after one hour?

A 800 counts per minute

B 600 counts per minute
C 400 counts per minute
D 200 counts per minute

17. When the time is 4 hours the count rate will be about

A 100 counts per minute

B 50 counts per minute
C 250 counts per minute
D 0 counts per minute

MC PAPER 8 Turn over

MC PAPER
A Radioactivity Investigation

Anne and Peter watch their teacher demonstrate an experiment using a source of beta particles.
This is the apparatus she used to investigate the absorption of beta particles by sheets of aluminium.

18. Anne and Peter discuss the dangers of ionising radiation.

Who is correct?

A Anne only
B Peter only
C both Anne and Peter
D neither

19. These are the teacher’s results.

Why does the reading from the radiation detector not reach zero?

A aluminium is not dense enough to stop beta particles

B aluminium sheets reflect beta particles
C the experiment is not valid
D some of the radiation is due to background radiation

MC PAPER 9 Turn over

MC PAPER

20. The beta emitter used in the experiment was a radioactive isotope of the element strontium, Sr.

This isotope has 38 protons and 52 neutrons in the nucleus of one of its atoms.

This is represented by

21. The diagram shows the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.

Which of these shows an isotope of this?

23. Scientific theories are only accepted as correct when

A a famous scientist carries out the experiment

B the experimental results are published in a scientific journal
C the experimental results are released to the media
D the same results are obtained by other scientists

24. A nucleus consists of 90 protons and 144 neutrons.

After emitting two beta-particles followed by an alpha-particle, this nucleus has

A 86 protons and 140 neutrons

B 86 protons and 142 neutrons
C 90 protons and 140 neutrons
D 90 protons and 142 neutrons

MC PAPER 10 Turn over