Detection of radioactivity: past paper questions

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• Question 37May/June 2026, paper 11Multiple choice1 mark

  Some sources of background radiation are natural and other sources are due to human activity. Which source is natural?

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• Question 35Oct/Nov 2025, paper 11Multiple choice1 mark

  Which type of radiation is measured using a detector connected to a counter?

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• Question 9Oct/Nov 2023, paper 43Structured10 marks

  For each application of radioactive isotopes, state and explain which type of radioactive emission is suitable and suggest an appropriate half-life for the isotope.

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• Question 35Oct/Nov 2025, paper 12Multiple choice1 mark

  When the count rate from a radioactive source is measured, background radiation is taken into account. Which option shows only examples of nuclear background radiation?

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• Question 34Oct/Nov 2024, paper 13Multiple choice1 mark

  When measuring the emissions from a radioactive rock brought into the laboratory, a teacher mentions that background radiation must be taken into account. What is this background radiation?

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• Question 36May/June 2023, paper 13Multiple choice1 mark

  What is a major source of background radiation?

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• Question 35May/June 2026, paper 23Multiple choice1 mark

  The equipment used to measure ionising nuclear radiation includes a detector. What is the detector connected to?

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• Question 35Oct/Nov 2025, paper 22Multiple choice1 mark

  Radon gas is a source of radiation that contributes to background radiation. What does not contribute to background radiation?

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• Question 9May/June 2026, paper 42Structured6 marksHas a diagram

  Carbon-14 is the only radioactive isotope of carbon that occurs naturally. State one similarity and one difference in the composition of the nuclei of atoms of different isotopes of the same element.

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• Question 33Oct/Nov 2025, paper 23Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Some students set up an experiment to measure the count rate for a radioactive source. First, they measure the radioactive background count rate in the laboratory by taking three measurements. Each measurement is taken over a 10-minute period.

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• Question 37Oct/Nov 2024, paper 23Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The diagram shows a system to control the thickness of paper produced by a machine. The graph shows how the count rate at the detector varies with the thickness of the paper.

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• Question 36May/June 2023, paper 23Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The graph shows how the count rate registered by a counter near to a sample of a radioactive isotope changes over a period of a few days. The background count rate is 5 counts per minute. What is the half-life of the isotope?

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• Question 34May/June 2025, paper 11Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The table shows the contribution to background radiation from the four most common sources.

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• Question 34May/June 2024, paper 12Multiple choice1 mark

  What makes a contribution to a person's annual dose of ionising radiation?

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• Question 9May/June 2023, paper 33Structured8 marksHas a diagram

  Fig. 9.1 represents an atom of beryllium. The labels A, B and C indicate three types of particle. Complete Table 9.1.

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• Question 35May/June 2025, paper 12Multiple choice1 mark

  Which list only includes sources of naturally occurring background radiation?

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• Question 34May/June 2024, paper 13Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  A radiation detector in a laboratory is measuring background radiation. Which row describes the readings and the cause?

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• Question 35May/June 2024, paper 22Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The dashed line on the graph shows the decay curve recorded from a sample of a particular radioactive isotope. The count rate includes background radiation. Which curve shows the corrected count rate for the decay?

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• Question 10May/June 2024, paper 43Structured9 marksHas a diagram

  Leaks in underground water pipes are detected using radioactive tracers. Fig. 10.1 shows a radiation detector above a water pipe. Before the radioactive tracer is added to the water, the detector measures the background radiation above the pipe.

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• Question 10May/June 2025, paper 32Structured7 marks

  Radon-222 is a radioactive gas that emits alpha ($\alpha$) particles. The nuclide notation for radon-222 is ${}_{86}^{222}\text{Rn}$. State the number of protons in one nucleus of radon-222.

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