ZNOTES.

ORG

UPDATED TO 2023-2025 SYLLABUS

CAIE IGCSE
PHYSICS
SUMMARIZED NOTES ON THE THEORY SYLLABUS
Prepared for Elena Salvatout for personal use only.
CAIE IGCSE PHYSICS

The Atom
1. Atomic Physics Nucleus: central part of atom made of protons (positively
charged) and neutrons. These two types of particles are
called nucleons. They are bound together by the strong
1.1. Nuclear Model of The Atom
nuclear force.
All matter is made up of atoms. Electrons: almost massless particles which orbit nucleus
in shells
Proton number: number of protons in an atom
Nucleon number: the number of nucleons (protons +
neutrons) in an atom
The following is the nuclide notation for atoms

ISOTOPES

Atoms of the same element that have different numbers

of neutrons e.g. Carbon 12 and Carbon 14.
The structure of an atom is simple. They have identical chemical properties but can have
different physical properties eg: radioactive
Alpha Scattering Gold Foil experiment
Nuclear Fission
(Rutherford’s)
Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom
splits into two or more smaller nuclei, because of the addition
of a neutron. The fission process often produces gamma
photons, and releases a very large amount of energy.

Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear Fusion reactions power the Sun and other stars. In a

fusion reaction, two light nuclei merge to form a single
heavier nucleus. The process releases energy because the
total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the

WWW.ZNOTES.ORG Copyright © 2024 ZNotes Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved. This document is authorised
for personal use only by Elena Salvatout at Home School on 12/06/24.
CAIE IGCSE PHYSICS

mass of the two original nuclei. The leftover mass becomes Radioactive elements have always existed on Earth and in
energy. outer space
However, human activity has added to the amount of
radiation that humans are exposed to on Earth.
Background radiation is defined as the radiation that
exists around us all the time.
The sources of it include : radioactivity in air, cosmic rays,
rocks and buildings, food and drink, medical, nuclear
power and testing.

The three types of nuclear emission

Atomic nuclei of most isotopes are unstable.

To become stable they give out radiation. As the radiation
moves away it takes some energy with it. This makes the
nucleus more stable. This is called radioactive decay.
This cannot be controlled by external factors so it is
known as a spontaneous and random event.
1.2. Radioactivity The 3 types of radioactive emissions are:

Detecting radiation

It is important to regulate the exposure of humans to

radiation
Ionising nuclear radiation is measured using a GM Tube
detector connected to a radiation counter.
Count rate is the number of decays per second recorded
by a detector and recorded by the counter. It is measured
in counts/s or counts/min
The count rate decreases the further the detector is from
the source. This is because the radiation becomes more
spread out the further away it is from the source

-Short
-Helium Nucleus \n - -
wavelength EM
Relative charge of +2 \n Electrons/Positrons
waves \n -
-2p and 2n \n -1e− /1e+
Uncharged

Effects of electricity & magnetism on radioactive

emissions, and ionisation caused by them.

Alpha Beta Gamma

Electric Move away from Move towards
No change
fields + particles + particles
Magnetic Use the left hand Use the left
No change
fields rule hand rule
Ionises most Ionises least
Ionises lesser
Ionisation particles due to particles because
particles
great mass no charge

Radioactive Decay

During α-decay or β-decay, the nucleus changes to a

Background Radiation different element
The initial nucleus is often called the parent nucleus
It is important to remember that radiation is a natural The nucleus of the new element is often called the
phenomenon daughter nucleus

WWW.ZNOTES.ORG Copyright © 2024 ZNotes Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved. This document is authorised
for personal use only by Elena Salvatout at Home School on 12/06/24.
CAIE IGCSE PHYSICS

During α-decay, 2p and 2n is lost and hence the nucleon The time it takes for the activity of the sample to decrease
number and proton number changes and a new element from 100 % to 50 % is the half-life
is formed. It is the same length of time as it would take to
During β-decay, one neutron from the nucleus changes decrease from 50 % activity to 25 % activity
into a proton and electron. The electron is removed from The half-life is constant for a particular isotope
the atom and given out as radiation.
During gamma ray decay, the nucleus releases an EM Uses of isotopes
wave and rearranges itself internally. No change is made
in the number of subatomic particles. Medical procedures including diagnosis and treatment of
cancer
Sterilising food (irradiating food to kill bacteria)
Sterilising medical equipment (using gamma rays)
Checking the thickness of materials
Smoke detectors (alarms)
Medical and industrial tracers

Safety Precautions

Minimise the amount of time you handle sources for and

return them to their boxes as soon as you have finished
using them
During use, keep yourself (and other people) as far from
the sources as feasible. When handling the sources do not
point at human tissue, using a pair of tweezers
Store the sources in lead-lined boxes.
Sometimes you can wear lead lined aprons

Nuclide Notation and Nuclear reactions.

There are 2 basic types of questions:

Half Life

It is impossible to know when a particular unstable

nucleus will decay
But the rate at which the activity of a sample decreases
can be known. This is known as the half-life. Half-life is
defined as: Nuclide notation is the notation of an element when it is
written with its proton number and nucleon number. \n A
The time taken for half the nuclei of that isotope in any nuclear reaction would take place like this.
sample to decay

The activity of a source is measured in becquerels. (Bq)

Different isotopes have different half-lives and half-lives
can vary from a fraction of a second to billions of years in
length
Half-life can be determined from an activity–time graph

WWW.ZNOTES.ORG Copyright © 2024 ZNotes Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved. This document is authorised
for personal use only by Elena Salvatout at Home School on 12/06/24.
CAIE IGCSE PHYSICS

WWW.ZNOTES.ORG Copyright © 2024 ZNotes Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved. This document is authorised
for personal use only by Elena Salvatout at Home School on 12/06/24.
CAIE IGCSE
Physics

© ZNotes Education Ltd. & ZNotes Foundation 2024. All rights reserved.
This version was created by Elena Salvatout on 12/06/24 for strictly personal use only.
These notes have been created by Shrey Agarwal and Reyansh Roy for the 2023-2025 syllabus
The document contains images and excerpts of text from educational resources available on the internet and
printed books. If you are the owner of such media, test or visual, utilized in this document and do not accept its
usage then we urge you to contact us and we would immediately replace said media.
No part of this document may be copied or re-uploaded to another website. Under no conditions may this
document be distributed under the name of false author(s) or sold for financial gain.
“ZNotes” and the ZNotes logo are trademarks of ZNotes Education Limited (registration UK00003478331).