Uses of Radioactivity • Measuring the thickness of foil • Radioactive tracers to monitor the working of organs in the body • Smoke alarms • Radioactive tracers to look for water leaks Slide 1

Slide 2 Use this information to answer the questions from the slides which follow Slide 2

1 Measuring the thickness of Foil Radiation source Aluminium foil 2mm thick Inside a foil factory Radiation Detector What would happen to the reading on the radiation detector if the foil got thicker? What would then happen to the gap between the rollers? Would you need an isotope with a long or short half-life? Explain why. What type of radiation would be most suitable for this job? Explain why. Slide 3

2 Radioactive tracers to monitor the working of organs in the body Radioactive iodine is drunk by the patient to find out if their kidneys are blocked. What do the traces tell you about this patients kidneys? What properties must the radiation used in this test have? (Hint: think type and half-life.) Slide 4

3 Smoke alarms Radiation source Radiation detector Which type of radiations would be most suitable for this use? Explain why. What effect does the smoke have on the level of radiation reaching the detector? Would the radiation source need a long or a short half-life? Slide 5 smoke

4 Radioactive tracers to look for water leaks Radiation detector Slide 6