Question Pack 7 – Half-Life

Q1.
Nobelium-259 has a half-life of 3500 s.

What is the decay constant of nobelium-259?

A 8.7 × 10​–5​ s​–1

B 2.0 × 10​–4​ s​–1

C 1.7 × 10​–2​ s​–1

D 1.2 × 10​–2​ s​–1

(Total 1 mark)

Q2.
A pure sample of nuclide ​X​ containing ​N​ nuclei has an activity ​A​.
The half-life of ​X​ is 6000 years.

A pure sample of nuclide ​Y​ containing 3​N​ nuclei has an activity 6​A​.

What is the half-life of nuclide ​Y​?

A 1000 years

B 3000 years

C 12 000 years

D 18 000 years

(Total 1 mark)

Q3.
After 64 days the activity of a radioactive nuclide has fallen to one sixteenth of its original
value. The half-life of the radioactive nuclide is

A 2 days.

B 4 days.

C 8 days.

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 D 16 days.

(Total 1 mark)

Q4.
The table below gives the values for the activity of a radioactive isotope over a period of a
few minutes.

time/s 0 60 120 180 240 300

activity/Bq 480 366 280 214 163 124

(a) Complete the graph below by plotting the remaining points and drawing an
appropriate curve.

(3)

(b) Use the graph to determine the half-life of the isotope.

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 half-life ____________________
(3)

(c) Initially there were 1.1 × 10​5​ atoms of the isotope present. Calculate the decay
probability of the isotope.

decay probability ____________________

Q5.
An isotope of technetium is a gamma emitter used by doctors as a tracer in the human
body. It is injected into the patient’s blood stream. Scanners outside the body measure the
gamma activity, enabling the blood flow to be monitored.

(a) The graph shows the variation of activity with time, ​t​, for a sample of the isotope.

(i) Use data from the graph to determine the half-life of the technetium isotope.

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 (3)

(ii) The decay constant of the technetium isotope is 3.2 × 10​−5​ s​−1​. Use data from
the graph and the equation ​A​ = ​λN​ to calculate the number of nuclei of the
radioactive technetium isotope present at time t​ ​ = 0.

(2)

(b) (i) State why an alpha emitter would not be suitable in this application.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(1)

(ii) State why the half-life of the technetium isotope makes it suitable for this
application.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(1)

(c) State and explain how the presence of the technetium isotope may do some
damage to the patient.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)
(Total 9 marks)

Q6.
A Geiger-Muller tube and counter were used to detect β​–​ particles emitted by a source
during a radioactivity experiment. The diagram below shows the ​corrected​ count rate
detected by the counter plotted against time since the beginning of the experiment.

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 (a) Draw on the graph the curve that best fits these data.

Use the graph to determine the half-life of the radioactive source as accurately as
you can.

Half-life ____________________
(3)

(b) State why the count rate has to be corrected before it is plotted on the graph.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(c) Explain how the graph and your final answer for the half-life would change if the
correction were ​not​ applied.

___________________________________________________________________
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 ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(d) Describe, giving reasons, how you would determine an accurate value for the
correction.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(3)
(Total 10 marks)

Q7.
Iodine-123 is a radioisotope used medically as a tracer to monitor thyroid and kidney
functions. The decay of an iodine-123 nucleus produces a gamma ray which, when
emitted from inside the body of a patient, can be detected externally.

(a) Why are gamma rays the most suitable type of nuclear radiation for this application?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(b) In a laboratory experiment on a sample of iodine-123 the following data were

time/h 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32

count-rate
512 410 338 279 217 191 143 119 91
/counts s–1

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 Why was it unnecessary to correct these values for background radiation?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(c) On the axes provided in the diagram below, complete the graph of count-rate
against time.

(2)

(d) Use your graph to find an accurate value for the half-life of iodine-123.
Show clearly the method you use.

Half-life ____________________
(3)
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 (e) Give ​two ​reasons why radioisotopes with short half-lives are particularly suitable for
use as a medical tracer.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)
(Total 11 marks)

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Question Pack 7 – Reflection Page:

Your Marks:______

Total Marks: 41

Percentage:

Questions I struggled on:

WWW:

EBI:

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