iGCSE Physics (0625) 5.2.3 Radioactive decay Paper 3 -Exam Style Questions- New Syllabus

Question

A teacher determines the types of emission from a radioactive source. He uses different materials to absorb the emissions. Fig. 11.1 shows the equipment.

The teacher places a material between the radioactive source and the detector. The counter shows the count rate for the emission that reaches the detector. The teacher records the count rate. He repeats the experiment for different materials.
Table 11.1 shows the results.

(a) State whether the source emits α (alpha)-particles.
Use information from Table 11.1 to give a reason for your answer.

(b) State whether the source emits γ (gamma)-rays.
Use information from Table 11.1 to give a reason for your answer.