A Level Physics 9702, topic 24.3

PET scanning: past paper questions

3 Cambridge A Level Physics 9702 questions on PET scanning (24.3) from 3 papers, 2023 to 2024. Open the paper or try a question free.

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Questions: 3
Papers: 3
Years: 2023 to 2024
Total marks: 32
Average per question: 10.7 marks
Largest question: 12 marks

By type: Structured 3

What the syllabus asks

understand that a tracer is a substance containing radioactive nuclei that can be introduced into the body and is then absorbed by the tissue being studied
recall that a tracer that decays by β+ decay is used in positron emission tomography (PET scanning)
understand that annihilation occurs when a particle interacts with its antiparticle and that mass-energy and momentum are conserved in the process
explain that, in PET scanning, positrons emitted by the decay of the tracer annihilate when they interact with electrons in the tissue, producing a pair of gamma-ray photons travelling in opposite directions
calculate the energy of the gamma-ray photons emitted during the annihilation of an electron-positron pair
understand that the gamma-ray photons from an annihilation event travel outside the body and can be detected, and an image of the tracer concentration in the tissue can be created by processing the arrival times of the gamma-ray photons

How hard the questions are

Recall0
Apply0
Analyse3
Not banded0

Derived from the command word Cambridge prints in each question, banded by a fixed table beside the syllabus's own definitions. A question printing no command word is unbanded: unknown, not middling.

Command words

determineApply3 questions
establish an answer using the information available
stateRecall3 questions
express in clear terms
show thatApply2 questions
suggestAnalyse2 questions
apply knowledge and understanding to situations where there are a range of valid responses in order to make proposals
useApply2 questions
explainAnalyse1 question
set out purposes or reasons/make the relationships between things evident/provide why and/or how and support with relevant evidence
sketchApply1 question
make a simple freehand drawing showing the key features

Where the questions come from

By year

20242
20231

By session

Oct/Nov3

By paper

Paper 43

Questions on this topic

Showing 2 of 3, spread across the years. Open one to write your answer and have it marked.

Question 9Oct/Nov 2024, paper 41Structured10 marks
Fluorine-18 ( $_{9}^{18} F$ ) decays by beta-plus ( $β^{+}$ ) emission with a half-life of 110 minutes. State the name of the beta-plus particle.
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Question 9Oct/Nov 2023, paper 42Structured12 marksHas a diagram
Fluorine-18 ( $_{9}^{18} F$ ) is a radioactive nuclide that is used as a tracer in positron emission tomography (PET scanning).
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