Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Physics · 4PH1 · Free · no account needed
Uses and Dangers of Radiation — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on Uses and Dangers of Radiation, 24 marks, about 24 minutes of writing. Each one carries the command word, the tariff and the specification statement it assesses, exactly as a paper presents them. This is an original Incandio practice question, written to reflect the structure and demands of the qualification. It is not an official Pearson Edexcel past-paper question.
This is the practice set for Uses and Dangers of Radiation — the lesson that teaches it. Read the lesson first if the idea is new; come here when you want to find out whether you can turn it into marks. Completely free, no account needed to read.
What these questions ask of you
8 command words run through this set, and on Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Physics each one means something precise. Answering the wrong command is the commonest way a candidate who understands the lesson still loses the mark.
- Which (1 mark)
- one option chosen from the set given
- State what is meant by (1–2 marks)
- the definition
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer
- Compare (2–4 marks)
- explicit comparison naming both cases
- Explain (2–4 marks)
- the physics that causes it, set out as a line of reasoning Misread as: describing the change without giving the physical reason for it
- Discuss (3–6 marks)
- more than one consideration weighed, reaching a position
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught physics to an unfamiliar arrangement
- Identify (1–2 marks)
- the correct item selected from what is shown
Assessed on Paper 1 (4PH1/1P) and Paper 2 (4PH1/2P), against AO1, AO2, AO3.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Physics (4PH1) — statements 7.14 · 7.15 · 7.16. Incandio is aligned to this specification; it is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's wording.
The 10 questions
Answer them on paper, then open the lesson's exam practice to have them marked. The mark scheme, the accepted and rejected answers and the annotated model answer are in Incandio and are not printed here — an answer beside its question is not practice.
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A hospital is choosing an isotope to inject as a medical tracer, so that a gamma camera outside the patient can follow it through the bloodstream. Four isotopes are available.
Table 1 — four isotopes available to the hospital Isotope Emission Half-life W alpha 6 hours X gamma 6 hours Y gamma 30 years Z beta 2 minutes (a)
(1)Identify
Identify the isotope in Table 1 that the hospital should choose.
A hospital is choosing an isotope to inject as a medical tracer, so that a gamma camera outside the patient can follow it through the bloodstream. Four isotopes are available.
Table 1 — four isotopes available to the hospital Isotope Emission Half-life W alpha 6 hours X gamma 6 hours Y gamma 30 years Z beta 2 minutes (b)
(3)Explain
Explain why isotopes W and Y in Table 1 would both be dangerous choices.
A hospital is choosing an isotope to inject as a medical tracer, so that a gamma camera outside the patient can follow it through the bloodstream. Four isotopes are available.
Table 1 — four isotopes available to the hospital Isotope Emission Half-life W alpha 6 hours X gamma 6 hours Y gamma 30 years Z beta 2 minutes (c)
(3)Suggest
Suggest why isotope Z in Table 1 would be difficult to use, even though its half-life is short.
A hospital is choosing an isotope to inject as a medical tracer, so that a gamma camera outside the patient can follow it through the bloodstream. Four isotopes are available.
Table 1 — four isotopes available to the hospital Isotope Emission Half-life W alpha 6 hours X gamma 6 hours Y gamma 30 years Z beta 2 minutes (Total for Question 1 = 7 marks)
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(1)Which
Which radiation is used to sterilise sealed medical instruments?
Radiation A alpha B beta C gamma D infrared (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)State what is meant by
State what is meant by contamination by a radioactive material.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(2)Give
Give two precautions a worker should take when handling a radioactive source.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
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(3)Compare
Compare irradiation with contamination.
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why a beta source is used in a machine that monitors the thickness of paper as it is produced.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(4)Discuss
Discuss the problems of disposing of radioactive waste from a nuclear power station.
(Total for Question 7 = 4 marks)
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(3)Suggest
Suggest how the alarm detects smoke, and why an alpha source is used in it.
Inside a smoke alarm — A smoke alarm contains a tiny sealed source of americium-241, an alpha emitter with a half-life of 432 years. The source faces a small air gap with two electrodes across it. In clean air a small steady current flows between the electrodes; the alarm sounds when that current falls.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
Have them marked, then defend the answer
Practice tells you the mark; teaching it back tells you whether you understand it. On Incandio a topic counts as mastered only once you have taught it and defended it.
- Mark these questions — 10 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain Uses and Dangers of Radiation to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Henri Becquerel over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Uses and Dangers of Radiation — Choosing a source by its half-life and its penetration — and the difference between being irradiated and being contaminated.
- All of Incandio Physics · Incandio Exam Practice