Click on the ALPHA, BETA and GAMMA RADIATION banner and the USING RADIATION IN MEDICINE banner below to watch the YouTube video on Radiation and Nuclear Decay. While watching the videos, write down the answers to the questions on the right side of the link. The answers to the questions from each of the 3 sections of the unit will account for 70% of your unit grade. When you complete each section, submit your answers via the link below. The link will send you to a Google Forms document where you will input your answers to the section's questions. Unit assessments will be released on Thursdays. After you have submitted your answers for each of the 3 sections AND the unit assessment, you will receive a grade for the unit.
Your answers to the questions below need to be manually submitted via a Google Forms document, using the link (button) on the right.
Alpha particles are composed (made up) of two ______________ and two ______________ which is the same as the nucleus of a Helium atom.
Alpha particles are different from Helium atoms in that they do not have any ______________, so it has an overall charge of 2+.
Alpha particles are relatively large and cannot penetrate very far into other materials. In the air it can only travel a few ______________ and alpha particles can be absorbed by a single sheet of ______________.
Beta particles are basically a lone ______________ with a charge or 1- and virtually no mass. The beta particle is created from a ______________ that decays into a proton and electron; with the proton staying in the nucleus and the electron being ejected.
Beta particles are more penetrating than alpha particles, penetrating through several meters of ______________ and about 5 millimeters of ______________.
Gamma Rays are not particles, but waves of ______________ radiation.
Gamma Rays can penetrate really far into materials and it takes thick sheets of ______________ or multiple meters of ______________ to stop.
Radiation is very dangerous because it can mutate our ______________, causing cancer and killing cells.
Radiation has risks, but it also has benefits. Radiation can also be used to fight cancer. Treatments from outside the body use ______________ to target cancerous cells through the skin. Working from inside the body, doctors use materials that emit ______________. These sources are placed directly next to cancer cells, so that only targeted areas are affected.