1.

(a)
ACJCP2Q6 Three alpha particles with equal energies are fired towards the nucleus
of a gold atom. Complete the diagram, showing the possible paths of the alpha p
articles (labeled 1, 2 and 3) as they passes by, and then moves away from the nu
cleus. [3] Consider a fourth alpha particle approaching the nucleus head-on. Sta
te the energy changes that take place during approach. [1]
1 2 3
Gold Nucleus
(b) In an -p rticle sc ttering experiment, n -p rticle nd gold nucleus (in p
iece of gold foil) collide he d on nd the -p rticle rebounds. (i) Using the d t
given, write down
numeric l expression for the electrost tic force of repulsi
on, F, cting on the -p rticle t the inst nt of collision when the dist nce betw
een -p rticle nd gold nucleus is x. [3.6410-26/x2] [For -p rticle, A = 4, Z = 2; f
or the gold nucleus, A = 197, Z = 79.] (ii) The electric potenti l energy of the
-p rticle nd the gold nucleus t the point of imp ct is Fx. If the initi l kine
tic energy of the -p rticle is 1.8 MeV, c lcul te v lue for x, ssuming the gol
d nucleus h s no kinetic energy initi lly. [1.2610-13 m] Wh t indic tion does the
v lue of x give bout the size of the two p rticles involved?
1

(c)
A 92 U nucleus undergoes lph dec y. The resulting d ughter nucleus is Thorium
(Th). Write the equ tion for this re ction. [1] Ionizing r di tion is
two-edged
sword. Briefly describe how g mm -r y c n be both benefici l to medic l science
nd yet h rmful to the hum n body if not properly h ndled. [2] AJCP3Q7/p rt The
isotope Iron-59 is -emitter with a half-life of 45 days. In order to estimate e
ngine wear, an engine component is manufactured from nonradioactive iron through
out which the isotope Iron-59 has
een uniformly distri
uted. The mass of the co
mponent is 2.4 kg and its initial activity is 8.5 x 107 Bq. The component is ins
talled in the engine 60 days after manufacture of the component, and then the en
gine is tested for 30 days. During the testing period, any metal worn off the co
mponent is retained in the surrounding oil. Immediately after the test, the oil
is found to have a total activity of 880 Bq. Calculate (i) the decay constant fo
r the isotope Iron-59, [1] (ii) the total activity of the component when it was
installed, [1] (iii) the mass of iron worn off the component during the test. [2
] Two deuterium nuclei fuse together to form a Helium-3 nucleus, with the releas
e of a neutron. The reaction is represented
y
2 1
238
(d)
2. (c)
(d)
H + 1 H 2 He + 0 n + energy
2
2
3
1
rest mass of 1 H nucleus
2 rest mass of 3 He nucleus rest mass of neutron rest mass of proton rest mass o
f electron
= 2.013 66 u = 3.014 93 u = 1.008 67 u = 1.007 28 u = 0.000 55 u
(i) (ii) (iii) (e)
Calculate the
inding energy per nucleon for 1. the deuterium nucleus, 2. the He
lium-3 nucleus. How much energy is released in this reaction? Estimate the energ
y availa
le from conversion
y fusion of 1 kg of deuterium into Helium-3.
[1] [1] [2] [1]
Explain whether nuclear fusion or nuclear fission releases more energy per unit
mass. [2] 7 -5 (c) 0.0154 / day; 3.37 x 10 Bq; 9.94 x 10 kg; (d) 1.79 x10-13 J;
4.13 x10-13 J; 7.82x1013J (e) There is a greater change in
inding energy per nu
cleon during fusion.
2

3. (ai) (aii)
CJCP3Q8 State what is meant
y the term nuclear
inding energy. [1] Figure 8.1 s
hows the variation of
inding energy per nucleon num
er.
A uranium-235 nucleus undergoes fission and produce two fission products of appr
oximately equal nucleon num
er. Using the data from Figure 8.1, estimate the ene
rgy released from the fission of one uranium-235 nucleus. [3] (aiii) One other p
ossi
le reaction for uranium-235 is
235 92
144 90 1 0 92 56 Ba + 36 Kr + 2 0 n U + 1 n 236 U The masses of particles are gi
ven
elow in atomic mass units, u, where 1 u is a mass of 1.66 x 10-27 kg.
0 Mass of 1 n 92 Mass of 235 U 56 Mass of 144 Ba
=
1.009 u 235.124 u 143.923 u
= =
36 Mass of 90 Kr = 89.920 u Calculate the energy released
y this reaction. Sugg
est with a reason which one of the two fission reactions for uranium-235 is more
likely to occur. [1]
3

[165 MeV; 4.06 x 10-11J] (
i) Why is radioactive decay descri
ed as a random proce
ss? [1] (
II) Descri
e how you would demonstrate that radioactive decay is a rand
om process. [1] (
iii) Explain why it is not advisa
le for pregnant ladies to
e
exposed to a radioactive source. [3] (c) The nuclide 38 Sr is a
eta-emitter of
half life 28 years
ut the nuclide Pu emits two groups of alpha-particles which
differ in energy
y 0.045 MeV.
38 If a 90 Sr source emits many
eta particles in one second today, how long wil
l it take it to emit the same num
er of
eta particles in the year 2064 ? 4s [4]
Discuss how the energy is conserved in the two types of plutonium (Pu) disinteg
ration, despite there
eing this difference in the energies of the alpha particl
es produced. [1] 238 34 90
4. MJCP3Q4 During one particular fission process, s slow moving neutron
om
ards
a Uranium-236 nucleus giving, among its fission products, s Strontium-90 nucleu
s and a Xenon-143 nucleus. Figure 4.1 shows the variation with mass num
er of th
e
inding energy per nucleon for various nuclides.
4

(a) What is meant
e
inding energy per nucleon of a nucleus? Show that the energy
released in the fission process is 247Mev. What other fission products are prod
uced in this process? Why are these particles not taken into account in the calc
ulation? (
) Why does a release of energy occur when there is an increase in
in
ding energy?
38 (c) One of the fission products, Strontium 90 Sr is radioactive and decays wi
th a half life of 28.8 years via
eta decay into an isotope of Yttrium(Y). Write
down an equation for the decay of Strontium-90. A short while after the fission
reaction ended, the activity of Sr was found to
e 40 Bq. Find the num
er of Sr
nuclei present in the sample at this time. [5.25 x 1010]
5. NYJCP2Q6 A student is provided with a freshly prepared sample of a radioactiv
e material and the count rate C from the source is found to vary with time t as
shown in Fig. 6(a). A second similar sample of the radioactive material is then
prepared and the student repeats the experiment,
ut with the sample at a higher
temperature. The variation with time of the count rate for the second sample is
shown in Fig. 6(
). The trend lines are also shown in
oth graphs.
600 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
600
Fig. 6 (a)
count/s
500 400 300 200 100 0 0 100 200 300 400 500
Fig. 6 (
)
count/s
600
700
800
time/s
time/s
(a)
State the evidence that is provided
y these two experiments for (i) the random
nature of radioactive decay, (ii) the spontaneous nature of radioactivity decay.
[4]
(
)
(i) (ii)
Estimate the
ackground count of the second sample (Fig.6(
)). Find from the gra
ph the half-life of either sample. [3]
5

ai) aii)
i)
ii)

The rate of every single decay is unpredicta
le. The short term fluctuations for
the two graphs are different. Both long term trends are exponential graphs. The
decay is spontaneous
ecause its rate of decay is independent of temperature (e
xternal condition). The graph comes to a constant rate of 100 counts per s. Back
ground count = 100 per s Re-num
er the count rate values of y-axis
y deducting
100 count per s. That is 600
ecomes 500 and 100
ecomes zero. Then at 0 second
, count rate = 450 count per s. Half of it = 225 count per s. Time for count rat
e to drop
y half = 100 s from graph
6. NYJCP3Q7 (a) What is meant
y the term
inding energy for an atomic nucleus a
nd how can this
e calculated? [2] (
) The relationship
etween the
inding ener
gy per nucleon and nucleon num
er is of the form shown in the graph. Explain fro
m this why energy is released in a fission process. [2]
Binding energy / MeV per nucleon
Nucleon num
er
(c) A possi
le fusion process which has
een suggested for the generation of ene
rgy is represented
y the following equation:
2 1
H + 1 H 2 He + 0 n + 5.2 x 10-13 J
2 3 1
Rest mass of proton Rest mass of neutron Rest mass of H-2 Rest mass of He-3 Usin
g the a
ove data, (i) (ii) (iii)
= 1.673 57 x10-27 kg = 1.674 96 x10-27 kg = 3.344 54 x10-27 kg = 5.008 35 x 10-2
7 kg
explain why H-2 is sta
le,
[2]
prove that the energy released in the nuclear fusion is 5.24 x 10-13 J. [3] Comm
ent on the following statement on the nuclear reaction:
6

The total mass of the two hydrogen nuclei
efore the reaction is more than the to
tal mass of the helium and neutron
ecause part of it is converted to energy. [3]
The total relativistic mass has not change. The product particles are moving wi
th high speeds after the collision. They have more mass than when they are at re
st (which is called the rest mass)
ecause of their kinetic energy. When they ar
e
rought to rest after that, their k.e. and hence some mass will
e passed to t
he particles of the medium which slows them down. So there is no mass converted
to energy! (d) In order to accomplish nuclear fusion, the particles involved mus
t first overcome the electric repulsion to get close enough for the attractive n
uclear strong force to fuse the particles. This requires extremely high temperat
ures, if temperature alone is considered in the process. Consider a proton gas a
t high temperature. Assume a proton is a sphere of radius r 1 x 10-15 m. Two pro
tons are moving at each other with the same kinetic energy K.
r
(i) Calculate the value of K which is enough to
ring the two protons to touch one
another so that the nuclear force can come into action. Explain
riefly the num

er of significant figure given in your answer. [3] -14 [6 x 10 J] (ii) If the p
roton gas
ehaves like an ideal gas, then the average kinetic 3 energy of the pr
otons in the gas 2 kT where k is the Boltzmann constant. What temperature is req
uired for the protons in the gas to have an average kinetic energy as that calcu
lated in d(i)? [2] [3 x 109 K] (iii) Such nuclear fusion process is happening in
the core of the Sun. However, the temperature of the core of the Sun is only a

out 1.5 x 107 K, which is well
elow the calculated value in (d) (ii). Give two
reasons, one in terms of classical mechanics and one in terms of quantum theory,
why such process is a
le to sustain? [3]
7

Nuclear Physics
2011
1. Explain how and why the masses of atoms differ from the sum of the masses of
their constituent particles. Radium (Ra) decays to radon (Rn)
y the reaction
226 88
Ra
222 86
Rn + 2 He +
4
The atomic masses are: Ra: 3.75310-25 k, Rn: 3.68610-25 k, He: 0.06610-25 k. (a)
Estimate the enery released when an atom of 226Ra decays. [9.010-12 J] (b) Esti
mate the wavelenth of the photon emitted durin this decay iven that 4% of the
enery released turns to radiation. [5.5310-13 m] (c) What happens to the remain
in 96% of the enery? 2. Sketch a raph of the bindin enery per nucleon E aa
inst the mass number A for naturally occurrin isotopes, indicatin an approxima
te scale for A. Use your raph to explain how enery may be obtained from fissio
n of heavy nuclei. From the equation
3 1
H + 1 H X + 0 n + 17.6Mev
2
1
(a) (b)
1 0
Name the nucleus X. Given that mass of
1 1 n =1.0087 u, 2 H = 2.0141 u, 3 H = 3.0161 u, Calculate the atomic mass of X
in u. [4.0027 u]
3. The first nuclear reaction induced in a laboratory (performed by Rutherford i
n 1919) can be represented by
2 8 1 N + 4 He 17 O + 1 H, in which a collision takes place between an -p rticle t
r velling t 3.0107 m s-1 nd st tion ry nitrogen nucleus. ( ) The tot l rest m
sses re s follows: 14 7 17 8 2 N + 4 He 14 7
= 18.005 68 u,
1 O+1H = 18.006 96 u. C lcul te the sm ll ch nge in m ss, in kilogr m, which t k
es pl ce in this nucle r re ction, nd the minimum kinetic energy needed by the p rticle to c use the nucle r re ction. [2.12510-30 kg, 1.9110-13 J]
(b) The p rticles move in str ight line. The speed of the proton fter the col
lision is 6.0 107 m s-1. Use the principle of conserv tion of momentum to c lcul
te the velocity of the oxygen nucleus fter the collision (m gnitude nd direct
ion). [3.53106 ms-1]
8

4. R dio ctive iron, 59Fe, is r dio ctive nuclide with

h lf-life of 46 d ys.
It is used medic lly in the di gnosis of blood disorders. Me surements re comp
lic ted by the f ct th t iron is excreted, i.e. removed, from the body t
r te
such th t 69 d ys fter dministering
dose, h lf of the iron toms in the dos
e h ve been excreted. Th t is to s y, iron h s biologic l h lf-life of 69 d ys
. ( ) If the count r te from blood s mple is 960 counts per minute, wh t will
it be from simil r blood s mple t ken 138 d ys l ter? [30 counts per min] (b)
How long fter the first s mple w s t ken would
further simil r s mple give
count r te of 480 counts per minute? [27.6 d ys] (c) Derive the rel tion between
T, the effective h lf-life of the r dio ctive nuclide in the body, Tb, the biol
ogic l h lf-life, nd Tr, the r dio ctive h lf-life. 5. An source with n ctivi
ty of 150 kBq is pl ced in met l c n s shown in the figure below. A 100 V d.c
. source nd 109 resistor re connected in series to the c n nd the source. T
his rr ngement is sometimes c lled nd ioniz tion ch mber.
( ) (b)
(c)
Wh t is me nt in this c se by n ctivity of 150 kBq? A potenti l difference of
3.4V is registered on the voltmeter. i. C lcul te the current in the wire t P.
St te ny ssumptions you h ve m de.[3.4 x 10-9 A] ii. C lcul te the correspondi
ng number of ioniz tions occurring in the met l c n per second. Assume th t ever
y ion formed in the met l c n is singly ch rged .[2.125 x 1010] With the source
removed from the met l c n, the voltmeter still registers potenti l difference
of 0.2V. Suggest 2 re sons why the current is not zero. The h lf life of the so
urce is known to be 1600 ye rs. C lcul te the dec y const nt nd hence deduce th
e number of r dio ctive toms in the source. [1.37 x 10-11 s-1; 1.09 x 1016]
(d)
9

6. Nuclei of 238Pu dec y with

h lf-life of 90 ye rs, emitting p rticles of ene
rgy 5.1 MeV. This isotope is to be used to power
he rt p ce-m ker. ( ) C lcul
te the dec y const nt of 238Pu. [2.44 x 10-10 s-1] (b) Determine the minimum num
ber of toms of 238Pu which must be present to give n initi l power of 10mW. As
sume th t the dec y of e ch 238Pu yields only
single p rticle. [5.02 x 1019] (
c) Suggest one re son why 238Pu is chosen for this pplic tion. Justify your ns
wer. 7 ) (b) Define h lf life ln 2 Show th t the h lf life of
r dio ctive nucl
ide is equiv lent to where is the radioactive decay constant.
(c) A fresh sampe of 5.00g of sodium-24 (haf ife 15hrs) is prepared in the a
boratory. After 2 hours, another fresh sampe of sodium 24 of mass m is added to
the origina sampe. Another 24 hours ater, the activity of the sampe is meas
ured and found to be 7.001017 Bq. Cacuate the mass m added to the sampe. [2.03
g] (d) In order to find the voume of water in a arge tank, the sampe of sodi
um24 with activity 7.001017 Bq is dissoved competey in water. After 3 days, 10
0m of the water is extracted and tested for radioactivity. The activity is foun
d to be 5.001011 Bq. Cacuate the voume of water in the tank. [5.02 x 106 m]
91 89 8. Apha partices are emitted when stationary 226 Pa decay into 222 Ac. I
f the kinetic energy K of the -p rticles nd its r nge R in the ir re rel ted b
y the equ tion R = 0.138 K1.5 where K is in MeV nd R is in centimeters, compute t
he r nge in ir of the -p rticles emitted. [5.8313 cm] [D t : 226P =226.0280u, 2
22Ac =222.0178u, 4He =4.0026u, 1 u = 931.48 MeV]
9. Ur nium 238U dec ys to le d 206Pb with
h lf life of 4.47 109 ye rs. The equ
tion representing the dec y is s such: 238U 206Pb + v rious dec y products. A r
ock is found to cont in 4.20 mg of 238U nd 2.135 mg of 206Pb. Assuming th t the
rock cont ined no le d t form tion, nd ll of the le d present now rises fro
m the dec y of ur nium, ( ) How m ny toms of 238U nd 206Pb does the rock now c
ont in? (b) How m ny toms of 238U were there in the rock t form tion?
(c) Wh t is the ge of the rock? [1.062353 x 1019; 6.239175 x 1018; 1.686270 x 1
019; 2.9796 x 109 yrs]
10

10. A c rdi c p cem ker is

device which is used to ensure th t f ulty he rt
be ts t suit ble r te. In one p cem ker, the required electric l energy is pr
ovided by converting the energy of r dio ctive plutonium-238. The toms of pluto
nium dec y by emitting lph p rticles of ver ge energy 8.8 x 10-13 J. The d ug
hter nucleus is n isotope of ur nium. The plutonium h s dec y const nt of 2.4
x 10-10 s-1. ( ) (b) (c) How m ny neutrons re in the nucleus of the r dio ctiv
e plutonium
238 94
Pu?
Suggest why lph p rticles re more suit ble th n either bet p rticles or g mm
r di tion for use s the power source. A new p cem ker cont ins 180 mg of plut
onium
(i) Determine the number of r dio ctive toms in the new p cem ker. [4.55 x 1020
] (ii) the Show th t pproxim tely 1 x 1011 disintegr tions occur e ch second wh
en power supply is new.
(iii) Determine the initi l power, in W, of the source when it is new. [0.088 W]
11. Living tissue cont ins sm ll mount of r dio c rbon-14. Upon de th, the
ctivity of the c rbon-14 decre ses due to r dio ctive dec y with
h lf-life of
5.7 x 103 ye rs. The r dio ctivity re ding obt ined from cert in m ss of livin
g tissue is (R + 24) counts per minute where R is the number of counts due to b
ckground r di tion. Determine the re ding th t s mple of de d tissue of identi
c l m ss would give if it c me from the Middle Ages ( bout 1000 A.D.), from the
s me meter in counts per minute. St te one essenti l ssumption m de during the
c lcul tions. [R + 21] 12. The h lf-life of
cert in r dio ctive element is suc
h th t 7/8 of given qu ntity dec ys in 12 d ys. Wh t fr ction rem ins undec ye
d fter 24 d ys? [1/64] 13. In c ncer ther py unit, p tients re given tre tme
nt from cert in r dio ctive source. This source h s h lf-life of 4 ye rs. A
p rticul r tre tment requires 10 minutes of irr di tion when the source is first
used. How much time is required is required for this tre tment, using the s me
source, 2 ye rs l ter? [14.1 minutes]
11

14. A r dio ctive source cont ins the nuclide 74 W which h s h lf-life of 24 h
ours. In the bsence of this source, const nt ver ge count-r te of 10 s-1 is
recorded. Immedi tely fter the source is pl ced in
fixed position ne r the co
unter, the ver ge count-r te rises to 90 s-1. Wh t ver ge count-r te is expect
ed with the source still in pl ce 24 hours l ter? [50] 15. A st tion ry r dio ct
ive isotope plutonium-238 h s h lf-life of 86 ye rs nd dec ys by emitting onl
y n lph p rticle. The d ughter nucleus is n isotope of ur nium. The tot l ki
netic energy of the products is 5.649 MeV. The m ss of 94 Pu is 238.0496 u. The
m ss of n lph p rticle is 4.0026 u. Write down n equ tion representing the d
ec y, indic ting cle rly the tomic number nd m ss number of e ch nucleus. (b)
C lcul te the m ss of the ur nium nucleus formed in the re ction, giving your n
swer in tomic m ss unit to 4 decim l pl ces. (c) C lcul te the r tio of the kin
etic energy of the lph p rticle to th t of the ur nium nucleus. [234.0410 u; 5
8.47] (d) S tellites c n be powered by the energy produced by the dec y of Pu238
. Devices known s r dioisotope thermoelectric gener tors (RTGs) on bo rd the s
tellites convert energy (in the form of kinetic energy of the products) gener te
d from the dec y into electric l energy. A p rticul r s tellite requires n elec
tric l power of 25 W. The efficiency of the energy conversion process is 15%. (i
) (ii) Expl in wh t is me nt by the ctivity of
r dio ctive source. Show th t
the r te of energy production from the r dio ctive source is 1.04 x 1021 eVs-1.
(iii) Wh t must the minimum ctivity of plutonium-238 be in order to provide the
required energy? [1.84 x 1014 s-1] (iv) C lcul te the minimum m ss of Pu-238 re
quired to provide this level of ctivity. [0.284 kg] (v) Wh t is the minimum m s
s of Pu-238 th t the s tellite should c rry before l unching if the s tellite is
intended to function properly t minimum power of 25 W for 20 ye rs? [0.336 k
g] ( )
238
187
12

(e) Plutonium is not pl ced in its pure form in RTGs but is inst lled s bricks
of plutonium dioxide, PuO2,
cer mic which if sh ttered, bre ks into l rge piec
es, r ther th n sm ller more d ngerous dust. (i) (ii) Expl in why there is no di
fference in the prob bility of dec y of Pu-238 whether it exists s pure plutoni
um or in the form of PuO2. Suggest
re son why l rge pieces of PuO2 pose less o
f he lth risk th n plutonium dust, which c n be inh led into the body.
16. When iron is irr di ted with neutrons n isotope of iron is formed. This iso
tope is r dio ctive with
h lf-life of 45 d ys. An iron piston ring of m ss 16g
w s irr di ted with neutrons until its ctivity due to the isotopes is 3.7 105Bq
. Ten d ys fter the irr di tion the ring w s inst lled in n engine nd fter 8
0 d ys of continuous use the cr nkc se oil w s found to h ve
tot l ctivity of
1.85103 Bq. Determine the ver ge m ss of iron worn off the ring per d y, ssumi
ng th t ll the met l removed from the ring ccumul ted in the oil. [4 x 10-3 g]
17. Nuclide Dec y Const nt /s-1
H lf-life/s
Americium 241Am 1.48 1010 4.68 x 10 -11 60 Cob lt Co 4.18 x 10-9 Phosphorus 32P
1.24 106 5.59 x 10-7 24 4 Sodium N 5.42 10 1.28 x 10-5 ( ) C lcul te the h lf l
ife of 60Co. [1.66 x 108s] (b) Cacuate the ratio M
-1 -1 Mm /kg s 1.94 x 10-10 6.97 x 10-8 5.33 x 10-4
moar mass of the nucide. [1.75 x 10-5 kg-1 s-1] (c) (d) (e) (f) Which of the n
ucides have the greatest activity per unit mass? Expain your answer. [Sodium]
Cacuate the activity of a mass of 2.0 x 10 -12 kg of the nucide which you hav
e named in (c). [6.42 x 108Bq] Why must radioactive waste normay be stored for
a period of time before disposa into the environment? A aboratory has faciit
ies suitabe for the storage of waste radioactive materia for periods not excee
ding 3 months (7.8 106 s). For which of the nucides woud storage for 3 months
before disposa be worthwhie? Give your reasons. [32P and 24Na]
m
for 32P where is the decay constant and Mm the
13

Data Anaysis : Radioactivity Nucear Reactor A nucear reactor throughout its 

ife generates power from fission of uranium-235 by neutrons in a reaction of thi
s type:
0 54 38 0 U + 1 n 143 Xe + 90 Sr + 3 1 n + 200 MeV The fission products, stronti
um and xenon, have very sma mass and are mosty contained within the fue ce
s. The neutrons, on the other hand, have high speeds and are uncharged. These ne
utrons are abe to from the fue ces into the graphite (carbon) moderator wher
e they are sowed down. One of the three neutrons is needed to sustain the chain
reaction and the others are absorbed by the moderator, contro rods and concret
e sides. 235 92
The pan in decommissioning nucear reactors has to take into account the foow
ing information: (i) A reactor has a tota mass of 300,000 tonnes and 5% of this
may be radioactive. Concrete, graphite and stee take up 8000, 2200 and 3400 to
nnes respectivey. (ii) The fue eements can be removed in a norma way. This r
emoves 99.99% of the radioactivity which was on site when the reactor was workin
g. (iii) The remaining radioactivity is mosty neutron-induced in the stee, con
crete and graphite structures. (iv) Radioactivity is expressed in Becqueres (Bq
). 1 Bq is 1 disintegration per second. (v) British aw defines a radioactive su
bstance as one with an activity greater than 400 Bq kg-1. (vi) There are about 2
500 known nucides. Of these, 79 which have a haf-ife onger than 1 year may b
e present in a reactor. Most of these 79 nucides do not reach the activity of 4
00 Bq kg-1 to necessitate them being caed radioactive but some do. (vii) The t
abe beow shows the activities of 13 such nucides in the 3 main sections, name
y concrete, graphite and stee of the reactor 10 years after its shutdown. A da
sh indicates an insignificant amount of nucide.
14

Nucide
3 1 14 6 36 17 41 20 56 26 60 27 59 28 63 28 63 41 108 47 151 62 152 63 154 63
H C C Ca Fe Co Ni Ni Nb Ag Sm Eu
Haf-ife (years) 12 5700 310 000 130 000 2.7 5.2 80 000 92 20 000 130 90 12 16
Concrete (1012 Bq) 0.10 0.82 0.28 0.15 0.82 0.10 2.3
Graphite (1012 Bq) 110 42 1.3 0.90 4.0 11 0.096 17 0.0017 0.051 0.11 0.61 190
Stee (1012 Bq) 1.7 2400 680 2.1 230 0.013 0.017 3300
Tota (1012 Bq) 110 44 1.3 1.0 2400 690 2.2 250 0.013 0.019 0.020 0.93 0.71 3500
Eu Tota
A figures are given to 2 significant figures. represents capture. This is a mo
de of decay in which the nucleus captures one of the atoms orbiting electrons. An
swer the following questions using the above data: (a) What is the activity in t
erms Bq g-1 of each of the three main sections of the reactor? [2.88 x 106; 8.6
4 x 107; 9.71 x 108] (b) Why is it that over a period of 10 years, the radioacti
ve iron-55 in the reactor is less of a problem than the radioactive nicel? (c)
Why is it liely that the activity of the long half-life nuclides would be low?
(d) How long after shutdown, will the activity of tritium in the reactor fall be
low 0.43 x 1012 Ba? [106 years] (e) Identify the nuclide(s) that would determine
the time required to isolate the reactor before it is deemed safe to demolish.
Explain your reasons. (f) By maing appropriate estimations, evaluate numericall
y, the number of years required to isolate the reactor. [3.3 x 106 years]
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