What does an alpha particle consist of?

2 protons and 2 neutrons.

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What is the charge of an alpha particle?

2+

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What is another name for an alpha particle?

A helium nucleus.

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What symbols can we use to represent an alpha particle?

α


or


He

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Is an alpha particle strongly, moderately, or weakly ionising? Why?

Strongly ionising as it is relatively large, and has a 2+ charge.

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Is an alpha particle strongly, moderately, or weakly penetrating?


What would it take to stop it?

Weakly penetrating.


It could be stopped by 5 cm of air or a single sheet of paper.

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What does a beta particle consist of?

1 electron

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What is the charge of a beta particle?

1-

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What is another name for a beta particle?

An electron

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What symbols can we use to represent a beta particle?

β-


or


e-

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Is a beta particle strongly, moderately, or weakly ionising?

Moderately ionising.

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Is a beta particle strongly, moderately, or weakly penetrating?


What would it take to stop it?

Moderately penetrating.


It could be stopped by a thin sheet of aluminium. 

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What is gamma radiation?

Gamma radiation is an electromagnetic wave.

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Is gamma radiation strongly, moderately, or weakly penetrating?


What would it require to stop it?

Strongly penetrating.


It would require a thick sheet of lead, or multiple metres of concrete to stop it. 

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Is gamma radiation strongly, moderately, or weakly ionising?

Weakly ionising.


It has no mass or charge. 

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What happens during alpha decay?

The unstable nucleus emits an alpha particle, which is 2 protons and 2 neutrons.

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How do the mass number and atomic number of an unstable nucleus change during alpha decay?

The mass number decreases by 4 and the atomic number decreases by 2. 

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What happens during beta minus decay?

A neutron decays into a proton and an electron.


The electron is emitted from the nucleus as a beta particle along with an electron antineutrino.

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How do the mass number and atomic number of an unstable nucleus change during beta minus decay?

The mass number stays the same and the atomic number increases by 1. 

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What happens during gamma decay?

High energy electromagnetic radiation (gamma ray) is emitted from the nucleus.


This often happens alongside alpha or beta decay.

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Do the mass number or atomic number of an unstable nucleus change during gamma decay?

No, the mass and atomic numbers stay the same during gamma decay.

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When writing nuclear decay equations, which 2 ways can we represent an alpha particle?

24​α


or


24​He

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When writing nuclear decay equations, which 2 ways can we represent an  beta minus particle?

−10​β


or


−10​e

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When writing nuclear decay equations, how do we represent gamma radiation?

γ


This is the greek symbol 'gamma'.

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