Contents
Key Stage 4
Meaning
Radioactivity is the emission of ionising radiation from a sample of unstable isotopes.
About Radioactivity
- The term radioactivity was first coined by Marie Curie who also discovered the elements Polonium and Radium which were radioactive.
- The radioactivity of a sample is measured in Becquerels (Bq) which is the number of radioactive decays in a sample per second.
- The radioactivity of a sample depends upon the amount of unstable isotopes in the sample and the half life of the isotope.
- Radioactivity is a scalar quantity as it has magnitude but does not have a direction.
Extra Information
References
AQA
- Activity (radioactivity), page 118, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy; Physics, CGP, AQA
- Activity (radioactivity), page 130, GCSE Physics; The Complete 9-1 Course for AQA, CGP, AQA
- Activity (radioactivity), page 200, GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA
- Activity (radioactivity), page 46, GCSE Physics; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA
- Activity of radioisotope definition, page 112, GCSE Physics; Student Book, Collins, AQA
- Activity, pages 100-101, 109, GCSE Physics; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA