HKCEE PHYSICS | Section 5 Atomic Physics | P.

1. 1990/I/9

Figure 11 shows the set-up of an experiment carried out in an evacuated chamber to study the radiation from

91 X . X emits α, β and γ radiation. A magnetic field (pointing into the paper) is

a radioactive source 234

applied. The photographic film is developed and marks in the positions P and Q are observed.
(a) Copy Figure 11 into your answer book. Sketch and label the paths of the α, β and γ radiation emitted
from X. (5 marks)
(b) Explain briefly
(i) why the experiment is carried out in an evacuated chamber.
(ii) the use of the lead block in the set-up. (4 marks)
(c) If a piece of cardboard is placed between the sources and the lead block, what type(s) of radiation
would be recorded on the photographic film ? (2 marks)
(d) Suggest an alternative detector to replace the photographic film in the experiment. (2 marks)

(e) If 234
91 X decays by emitting one α particle and one β particle to form a product nucleus Y, what

will be the atomic number and mass number of Y? (2 marks)

2. 1991/I/7
(a)

Two metal plates X and Y are connected to a sensitive ammeter and an extra high tension supply

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(E.H.T.). A lead box P is placed near the metal plates as shown in Figure 12.
(i) Sketch the electric field pattern between X and Y. The direction of the field should be shown.
(ii) If a radioactive source emitting α particles is placed in P , the ammeter shows that a current is
flowing. Explain why there is a current.
(iii) What happens to the ammeter reading if the source in (ii) is replaced by one emitting γ rays.
Explain briefly.

(iv) Now a radioactive source 234

91 Pa is placed in P. 234
91 Pa decays by emitting a β particle and γ

rays to form a daughter nucleus U.

(1) Write down an equation for the decay.
(2) Copy Figure 12 into your answer book, sketch and label the paths of the radiation emitted
by the source. (10 marks)
(b) Leaks in underground oilpipes can be detected by adding a small amount of radioactive source into the
oil being pumped. Oil flows out from the leaks and radioactivity is detected on the ground around the
leaks.
(i) Which type of source ( α, β or γ ) is suitable ? Explain briefly.
(ii) Two sources emitting the suitable type of radiation of half-lives 50 years and 10 hours are
available. Which one should be used ? Explain briefly. (5 marks)

3. 1992/I/7
(a)

Figure 11 shows a simplified set-up of the α particle scattering experiment, which was carried out in
a vacuum. α particles were emitted through a narrow slit to strike on a thin gold foil. The detector
was a microscope with a fluorescent screen in the front.
(i) Explain briefly
(1) why a lead box with a narrow slit was used.
(2) why the experiment was performed in a vacuum.

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(ii) In the experiment, most of the α particle emitted were detected at A, and a small number were
detected in various positions around the foil, such as B, C and D. This experiment led to
Rutherford's atomic model. Describe this model.
(iii) How would the number of α particles detected at A be affected if the thickness of the gold foil
were increased to 1 mm ?
(iv) State another type of detector which can detect α particles. (10 marks)

(b) Carbon-14 ( 146 C ) decays with a half-life of 5700 years. Each carbon-14 nucleus decays by emitting a

β particle.
(i) Using X to denote the daughter nucleus, write down an equation for the decay.
(ii) The tissues of living plants contain 8 carbon-14 atoms in 1013 carbon atoms. The specimen of a
dead plant is found to contain one carbon-14 atom in 1013 carbon atoms. Estimate the age of the
specimen. (5 marks)

4. 1993/I/7
(a) In an experiment to measure the half-life of a radioactive isotope of sodium in a place where the
background count rate is 100 counts per minute, the following result is obtained :
Time/hour 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Total count rate/ 1100 498 259 161 125 110 104
counts per minute

(i) Suggest TWO major sources of background radiation.

(ii) Plot a graph of the CORRECTED count rate against time on graph paper. Hence find the
half-life of the isotope.
(iii) By considering its half-life, state whether the isotope is suitable to be used for injecting into a
patient's vein to investigate his blood circulation. Give your reason. (11 marks)
(b) A cloud chamber is used to observe the tracks of α -particles.
(i) Describe the tracks of α -particles in the cloud chamber.
(ii) An α -particle collides with a helium nucleus to form a fork track. What is the angle of the fork
track and what does this angle indicate ? (4 marks)

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5. 1994/I/6

Figure 12 shows part of a decay series.

(a) From Figure 12, name the particles which is emitted in each of the following changes:
(i) A
B
(ii) B
C (2 marks)
(b) State two nuclides in the series which are isotopes of each other. (1 mark)
(c) The final stable nuclide of the series is X, whose atomic number is 82 and the number of neutrons is
126.
(i) Find the mass numbers of A and X.
(ii) Find the total number of α particles emitted from A to X. (4 marks)
(d) Some of the nuclides in Figure 12 also emit γ -radiation when they decay, however it is impossible to
identify these nuclides from the figure. Explain briefly. (2 marks)
(e) A Geiger counter is placed 20 cm from a radioactive source which undergoes the decay as shown in
Figure 12. The CORRECTED count rates obtained in three consecutive minutes are 1027, 1011 and
1018 counts per minute respectively.
(i) What type(s) of radiation emitted by the source can reach the counter ? Explain briefly.
(ii) Explain what is meant by CORRECTED count rate.
(iii) Explain briefly why the three readings differ from each other. (6 marks)

6. 1995/I/7
In a school laboratory, the background count rate recorded by a GM counter is 100 counts per minute.
(a) The counter is placed close in front of a radioactive source P. The following results are obtained :
Time/hour 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Recorded count rate/ 620 400 270 199 157 133 118
counts per minute
(i) Find the corrected count rate at t = 0. (1 mark)
(ii) Plot the graph of the corrected count rate against time on graph paper. Hence find the half-life
of the source. (6 marks)

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*(b) To find out the kind(s) of radiation emitted by P, sheets of different materials are placed in turn
between P and the counter. The following results are obtained :
Material Recorded count rate/counts per minute
– 620
paper 623
5 mm Aluminimum 98
5 mm Lead 101
Explain how the above result shows that P emits β radiation only and it does not emit α or γ
radiation. (5 marks)
(c) If the experiment in (b) is repeated with another source Q which emits both α and γ radiation, a
different set of readings would be obtained, as in Table 3.

Material Recorded count rate/counts per minute

– 750
paper x
5 mm Aluminimum y
5 mm Lead z
From the following list, choose suitable values for x, y and z:
0, 100, 195, 540, 750
(Note : A reading may be used more than once.) (3 marks)

7. 1996/I/6

A factory produces detergent contained in plastic bottles. The following method is used to monitor the
amount of detergent contained in each bottle : a radioactive source is placed on one side of the conveyor belt
at the level to which the detergent is expected to fill and a detector is placed at the same level on the other
side. (See Figure 11.)
(a) Which type of radioactive source ( α, β and γ ) should be used ? Explain briefly why the other two
types are not suitable. (3 marks)
(b) Suggest one suitable detector for the above system. (1 mark)
*(c) Explain how the monitoring system can detect bottles of detergent that have not been filled up to the
required level. (4 marks)

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(d) Two sources emitting the suitable type of radiation of half-lives 10 minutes and 5 years are available.
(i) Explain what is meant by the half-life of a radioactive source. (2 marks)
(ii) Which source should be used ? Explain briefly. (3 marks)
(e) State two safety precautions that the factory workers should take when handling radioactive sources.
(2 marks)

8. 1997/I/6

Two metal plates are connected to a high voltage d.c. supply and a galvanometer as shown in Figure 8.
When a radioactive source X emitting α particles is placed very near the metal plates, the galvanometer
shows that a current is flowing. When X is moved a small distance away from the two plates, the
galvanometer reading quickly drops to zero.
*(a) Explain why there is a current and why it is present only when X is very near the metal plates.
(4 marks)

(b) 220
86 X decays by emitting an α particle to form a stable nucleus Y. Write down an equation for the

decay. What is the neutron number of Y ? (3 marks)

(c) How would the galvanometer reading be affected if X is replaced by a β source ? Explain briefly.
(2 marks)
(d) X is placed very near the metal plates and the galvanometer reading is recorded every 30 seconds. The
results obtained are shown below :
Time/s 0 30 60 90 120 150
Current/ µ A 72 48 32 22 15 10
Plot a graph of current against time on graph paper.
Hence find the half-life of X. (Note : You may assume that the activity of the source is directly
proportional to the current.) (5 marks)
(e) Explain why X is not suitable for uses as tracers. (1 mark)

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9. 1998/I/6

The radioactive isotope of sodium, 24

11 Na , decays by emitting a β particle to form a stable isotope of

magnesium (Mg).
(a) Write down an equation for the decay. (2 marks)
*(b) Suppose you are given the following apparatus :
a GM counter, a sheet of paper and a 5 mm thick aluminium sheet.

Describe how you can demonstrate that 24

11 Na emits β particles and does not emit α particles.

(5 marks)

(c) The half life of 24

11 Na is 15 hours. A sample of 24
11 Na having an activity of 32 x 103 disintegrations

per second is injected into the blood stream of a patient. After 45 hours, 6 cm3 of blood is taken out
from the patient's body and its activity is found to be 5 disintegrations per second.
24
(i) How many half-lives of 11 Na will have elapsed after 45 hours ? (1 mark)

(ii) Estimate the volume of blood in the patient's body. (3 marks)

24
(iii) Suggest two reasons for using 11 Na as a medical tracer. (2 marks)

(d) State an application of radioactive isotopes, other than tracers, in each of the following fields :
(i) Medicine.
(ii) Industry. (2 marks)

10. 1999/I/6
To investigate the kind(s) of radiation emitted by a radioactive source, a Geiger-Muller counter is placed
close in front of the source and sheets of different absorbers are placed in turn between the source and the
counter. Three readings are taken at one-minute intervals for each absorber. The following results are
obtained :
Absorber Recorded count rate/counts per minute
st
1 reading 2nd reading 3rd reading
– 700 710 693
Paper 702 703 701
1 mm Aluminimum 313 320 317
5 mm Lead 98 101 100
Table 1
The background count rate recorded by the counter is 100 counts per minute.
(a) Explain why the three readings for each absorber are not identical. (1 mark)
*(b) Explain how the above results show that the source emits β radiation only and it does not emit α
and γ radiation. (5 marks)

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11. 2000/I/11
(a) X and Y are two radioactive nuclides with half lives of 12 hours and 2.6 years respectively. Both
nuclides decay by emitting a β particle to form stable product nuclides.
(i) After emitting a β particle, how would the atomic number and mass number of nuclide X be
changed ? (2 marks)
(ii) Describe the changes in activity (in disintegrations per second) of a specimen of nuclide X and
a specimen of Y after one day. (2 marks)
(iii) Comment on the following statement :
The mass of a specimen containing nuclide X will be reduced by approximately half in 12
hours. (2 marks)
(b) A factory produces aluminium sheets 1 mm in thickness. The thickness of the sheets is monitored by a
gauge. (See Figure 16.)
A β source is used in the gauge.

(i) Explain why α and γ sources are not used in the gauge. (2 marks)
(ii) Which of the nuclides (X or Y) is more suitable to use as the radioactive source ? Explain your
answer. (2 marks)

12. 2001/I/11

Figure 14 shows a set-up used to study the radiation from a radioactive source. A Geiger-Muller (GM) tube
is placed at position P, which is 20 cm from the source. Two coils A and B connected to a battery and a
switch S are placed between the source and the GM tube as shown. Initially, S is open and the variation of
the count rate recorded by the GM tube with time is shown in Figure 15.

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(a) Explain why the count rate shown in Figure 15 is not due to α particles, no matter what kinds of
radiation are emitted by the source. (2 marks)
(b) Now switch S is closed. The GM tube is placed at positions P and Q in turn (see Figure 14) and the
count rates recorded are shown in Figures 16 and 17 respectively. When the GM tube is placed at any
point vertically above P, an average count rate of 100 counts per minute is recorded at each point.

(i) State the direction of the magnetic field formed between coils A and B. (1 mark)
(ii) What kind of radiation is recorded when the GM tube is held at any point vertically above P ?
Explain your answer. (3 marks)
*(iii) What conclusion about the radiation emitted by the source can you draw from Figures 16 and
17 ? Explain your answer. (5 marks)
(iv) Explain why the sum of the average count rates recorded in Figures 16 and 17 is greater than
that recorded in Figure 15. (2 marks)
(c) The above experiment cannot determine whether α particles are emitted by the source. Suggest a
method for finding out the answer. (2 marks)

13. 2002/I/10

Iodine-131 ( 131
53 I ) is a radioisotope which decays by emitting a β-particle and γ rays. It is used in

hospitals to test the kidneys of patients. During the test, an iodine-131 solution is injected into the
bloodstream of a patient. As the blood passes through the kidney, iodine-131 will be absorbed by the kidney

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and eventually excreted out of the body with urine. If the kidney is not functioning properly, both the
absorption and excretion rates of iodine- 131 will decrease. A γ -detector is placed near the kidneys of the
patient to detect the activity of the radiation coming from the kidneys (see Figure 15).
(a) Using X to denote the daughter nucleus, write down an equation for the decay of an iodine-131 nucleus.
(2 marks)
(b) Explain why the β-particles emitted by iodine-131 fail to reach the detector. (1 mark)
(c) The half-life of iodine-131 is 8 days.
(i) State the meaning of ‘half-life’. (2 marks)
(ii) For safety purposes, the activity of iodine-131 solution in the test should not exceed 1.5 × 108
disintegrations per second. When an iodine-131 solution is prepared, its activity is 6 × 108
disintegrations per second. How many days after preparation would the solution be suitable for
the test ? (2 marks)
(iii)

Figure 16 shows the variation of the activities of the radiation detected from the right and left
kidneys of a patient with time. Which kidney do you think is not functioning properly ? Explain
your answer. (3 marks)
*(iv) Besides iodine-131, technetium-99m is another radioisotope which is also used in the kidney test.
Technetium-99m emits γ radiation only and its half-life is 6 hours. Which of these two
sources do you think is more preferable for use in the kidney test ? Explain your answer.
(5 marks)
14. 2003/I/9
In April 1986, a disastrous nuclear accident happened at the Chernobyl Nuclear Station. A large amount of
radioactive substances was released and spread to neighbouring countries. The radiation levels recorded in
these countries were much higher than the normal background count rate.
(a) State two sources of background radiation. (2 marks)
(b) State one way by which the radioactive substances released in the accident were spread to
neighbouring countries. (1 mark)
(c) One of the radioactive isotopes released in the accident was caesium-137 (Cs-137). The following
equation shows how Cs-137 is produced :

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U + 01n → 137x Cs + 37y Rb + z 01n

235
92

(i) if z = 4, find the values of x and y and state their physical meanings. (4 marks)
(ii) The half-life of Cs-137 is 30 years. Suppose that a soil sample contaminated by Cs-137 was
found to have an initial activity of 1.2 x 106 Bq (disintegrations per second). A physicist
comments that the contaminated sample will affect the environment for more than 300 years.
Justify the physicist's claim with calculations. You may assume that the activity of a
non-contaminated sample of similar nature is 200 Bq. (3 marks)
*(d) The development of nuclear energy is a controversial issue. Do you support the development of
nuclear energy ? State your reasoning to support your point of view. (5 marks)

15. 2004/I/9

Figure 14 shows a smoke detector. The circuit inside the detector is shown in Figure 15. A small amount of

the radioisotope americium-241 ( 241

95 Am ) is placed between two electrodes. The two electrodes are

connected to a battery and an alarm circuit. The detector has slots in it to allow air flow.
(a) An americium-241 nucleus decays by emitting an α -particle to form a daughter nucleus neptunium
(Np), with a half-life of 432 years.
(i) Write down an equation for the decay of an americium-241 nucleus. (2 marks)
(ii) Find the number of neutrons in the daughter nucleus. (1 mark)
(b) Under normal conditions, a small current flows in the circuit inside the detector. However, when
smoke particles enter the detector, the current drops significantly. This triggers the alarm to sound.
*(i) Explain why a current flows between the electrodes under normal conditions. (4 marks)
(ii) Suggest one possible reason why the current drops when smoke particles enter the detector.
(2 marks)
(c) Explain why it is preferable for the radioactive source used in smoke detectors to have a long half-life.
(2 marks)

(d) Carbon-14 ( 146 C ) is a radioisotope which decays by emitting β particles and has a half-life of 5700

years. Explain whether this source is suitable for use in smoke detectors or not. (2 marks)

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(e) People are concerned about the biological hazards of radiation. If you are the manufacturer of the
described smoke detector, how would you explain to the public that using the detector will not pose
any health hazard ? (2 marks)

16. 2005/I/7
Read the following passage about Iodine-131 therapy and answer the questions that follow.

Iodine-131 is a radioisotope which emits β and γ radiation. It can be used for thyroid cancer
treatment.
A patient suffering from thyroid cancer will first undergo an operation to have the thyroid gland
removed. However, some thyroid tissue may remain in the neck of the patient or may be carried in
the blood stream to other parts of the body. Iodine-131 is then used to trace and get rid of the
remaining thyroid tissue in the body.

Iodine-131 therapy consists of two stages. In Stage 1, the patient will take a low dose of Iodine-131 to
trace the remaining thyroid tissue. A detector is placed near the patient to monitor the activity of the
radiation coming from the patient.

In case any remaining thyroid tissue is spotted in Stage 1, the patient will then take a higher dose of
Iodine-131 in Stage 2. The iodine will be absorbed by the thyroid tissue and the radiation emitted can
kill the cancer cells.

Special hospital rooms are designed for patients who receive Stage 2 of the therapy. The rooms have
metallic shielding in the doors and reinforced walls. Inside the rooms, there are plastic covers on the
furniture, doors, handles and switches.

Source : Iodine-131 Therapy, The Ohio State University Medical Center, 2003.
(a) Explain why, in Stage 1, β radiation from the patient cannot be detected by the detector. (1 mark)
(b) In Stage 2, which kind of radiation is more effective in killing cancer cells ? Explain your answer.
(2 marks)
(c) State one special feature of the hospital rooms designed for patients receiving Stage 2 of the therapy
and explain its function. (2 marks)

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17. 2005/I/8
Carol performs an experiment to measure the half-life of a radioactive source. She places a Geiger-Muller
tube in front of the source and the following results are obtained :
Time t /hour 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Count rate/ counts per minute 400 225 154 119 107 105 100 102
Table 1
(a) Plot a graph of the count rate against time in Figure 11. (4 marks)
(b) Estimate the background count rate. (1 mark)
(c) Estimate the corrected count rate at t = 0.
Hence, or otherwise, estimate the half-life of the source. (2 marks)

18. 2006/I/8
Workers of nuclear plants are required to wear film badges (see Figure 14) to monitor their exposure to
radiation. Inside the film badge, an opaque plastic bag is wrapped around a sheet of photographic film.
Aluminium and lead sheets are also placed inside the badge (see Figure 15) so that the types of incoming
radiation can be distinguished.

(a) What type(s) of radiation can be detected by the badge? (1 mark)

(b) Why is an opaque plastic bag used to wrap the photographic film? (1 mark)
(c) The films of three workers John, Mary and Ken were developed. Table 3 shows the degrees of
blackening on different regions of the films inside the badges which they wore.
Regions on the film Degree of blackening (0 – 5)
(0 = not blackened; 5 = most blackened)
John Mary Ken
Beneath the open window 5 5 5
Beneath 1 mm aluminium sheet 5 3 4
Beneath 3 mm aluminium sheet 5 1 2
Beneath 5 mm lead sheet 4 0 0
*(i) Based on the results in Table 3, explain which type(s) of radiation John and Mary are definitely
being exposed to respectively. (4 marks)
(ii) Give one reason why different degrees of blackening were recorded on the films of Mary and Ken.
(1 mark)

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(d) Suggest one hazard of exposure to ionizing radiations. (1 mark)

19. 2007/I/8
* In a physic lesson, a teacher uses the apparatus shown in Figure 13 to find the range of *** particles in the
air. Describe the procedures of the experiment.

(5 marks)

20. 2008/I/12
(a) A teacher places a radioactive source 1 cm in front of a Geiger-Muller tube (GM tube) and measures
the counter rate. When he inserts a piece of paper between the radioactive source and the GM tube, he
finds that there is no significant change in the measured count rate. State the conclusion about the type
of radiation emitted from the radioactive source. (1 mark)
The teacher then conducts another experiment to investigate the deflation of radiations inside a magnetic
field as shown in Figure 23. The GM tube can be rotated from 0o to 180o around the magnetic field. Figure
24 shows the count rate recorded at different angles with or without the magnetic field.

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(b) Estimate the count rate due to the background radiation. (1 mark)
*(c) Using the result in Figure 24, explain why it can be concluded that the radioactive source emits β and
γ rays. (5 marks)
(d) Estimate the count rate due to each type of radiation at θ = 90 without the magnetic field. Write the

answer in Table 3.
Type of radiation Count rate / counts per minute
α 0
β
γ
Table 3
(2 marks)

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