Radioactive Decay Flashcards

All 5 cards in this deck

What is radioactive decay?

The random process in which an unstable nucleus gives out radiation as it changes to become more stable.

What is meant by the activity of a radioactive source?

The rate at which a source of unstable nuclei decays. Measured in becquerel (Bq).

What is count-rate?

The number of decays recorded each second by a detector.

Which instrument is used to detect and measure count-rate?

A Geiger-Muller tube.

True or false? It is the electrons of an atom that are unstable in a radioactive substance.

False. It is the nucleus that is unstable, and radiation is emitted from the nucleus.