GCSE Physics Revision "Radioactivity"

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In this video, we look at what is meant by radioactive decay and the activity of a radioactive isotope. We then look at the four types of nuclear radiation.
This video is based on the AQA spec. This video may be appropriate for iGCSE / O Level Physics. Please consult your specification. The Amazon link above is an affiliate link. This provides a small commission which helps to support freesciencelessons. The cost remains the same to you. If you prefer not to use this, you can search Amazon for the Freesciencelessons workbooks.
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Ernest Rutherford
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Ernest Marsden
S P Andrew Ltd (1921)
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Geiger Muller tube
Boffy B
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[@_GShock_]

3 minutes of your lessons are more better and efficient than my teacher teaching us for 50 minutes. (they go off topic very often) Edit: two 9s one 8 in science thanks to this g

[@AbrarKhan-kb9nn]

yep true

[@LOLegitimateLOLegitimate]

my teacher is legit a schizo I swear to god. One minute shes on about meiosis and the next shes talking about having walked her dog at 6am

[@eashaltariq4218]

truuuuu

[@humairaaayaz8081]

BlackBot she is but like one of the biology teachers in my school

[@b_ysof9468]

true

[@johnabraham8266]

My man here is my go to guy for GCSEs

[@charlierutherford6239]

3 years later and he still the only go to

[@zoomzoom5978]

50 years later and still the go to lad

[@joeallsop8854]

Still is

[@rashood8511]

TO THIS DAY

[@M0Hamza9]

YES HE IS

[@millyandbailey2339]

You’re literally such a lad, mans helping me get my gcses

[@therealgamebase]

This guy explained in UNDER 5 minutes what my Biology/Physics teacher explained in 4-5 lessons Edit: fixed a typo

[@Radiant100]

True!

[@aljazeera5844]

All we have to do now is clone this guy for every school in the country and then we will all get level 9s.

[@mahirmahmood7257]

That's impossible as we can't clone people and everyone can't get grade 9s

[@Cartouchai]

@@mahirmahmood7257 im pretty sure he was joking about the cloning part, but your right about the 9's part

[@lowquallityrobloxvideos5530]

r/woooosh

[@tamsindave]

@@mahirmahmood7257 yeah he was joking aha

[@fireemperorzuko8756]

@@Cartouchai what if everyone gets 100%?

[@willwyst4433]

big man here helping me get them gcses ya fkn legend

[@bobbobbington7918]

*freaking

[@MariamPatel-cg9vx]

and he still is nw in 2025

[@nishantmamtora5820]

very helpful, better than my teacher.

[@pxinkillxr456]

This man is an absolute icon

[@rachellanglois5223]

i have a chemistry exam on radioactivity tomorrow morning so i guess im binge watching these videos

[@TheRealD3Y]

This is physics...

[@speedbird1186]

A CHEMISTRY, exam, on radioactivity? What kind of chemistry-

[@insanegoprocontent7980]

Congrats on 500k recently! Well deserved!

[@MirinaeH]

i love how British the comment sections on these are (also thanks mate you saved my ass)

[@jamiedevine]

Gcses *are* British so that would explain it

[@tornaparttv3831]

what are you then watching these videos?

[@MintyMinho]

@@jamiedevine international countries use our system too

[@bobbobbington7918]

*bum

[@Dnfbdodnsgtxodmalzhebeuxeeysdb]

some countries do gcses that are called international gcses, but the less stupid reason is that they just happened to find this video when revising radioactivity even if they're not british@@tornaparttv3831

[@amvmedia8553]

What a great teacher. Info hit my mind easily

[@Letik3x]

my teacher just puts your videos on because you explain this VERY WELL. thank you so much you videos are helping me a lot.

[@aliknowsplato]

This guy carried me to a 9 in physics and 7 in chemistry when I was a predicted 4 before mocks

[@geetikaallam8378]

I love the way he says "so bear with it"haha

[@Lord_Reeves]

I hate the way he says "beta"

[@gabrielhiggins9991]

@@Lord_Reeves but that's how it's pronounced lol

[@christianmario9753]

This man is an absolute legend

[@Zahra-zb5dx]

Got my physics exam today, thank you so much!

[@oscargascoyne9835]

Thanks for all your help with my gcse science, me and everyone at my school love your videos. Keep up the good work.

[@franklinhole2596]

This man is a legend

[@HamzaAli-wv2ve]

Hi I’m not sure because at school we only learned about alpha beta and gamma and you pulled out neutron radiation🤷🏽‍♂️

[@Am1neee]

GCSE Or IGCSE?

[@smine404]

Family Friendly it's like when nuclear fission occurs. Neutrons are shot out. That's all you need to know dw

[@assadazizullah2556]

yh ikr 😂😂

[@leahs1505]

you should be revising! scroll up g

[@RGHAFUR]

Lmao

[@shamzinoo6602]

Lmao

[@ryu.-]

Lmao

[@cmajor7388]

my man has done it again

[@CupcakesAMVS]

I don't understand how you do it. You're explanations are very simplistic which match very well with the diagrams you give which enhance a students understanding. Years of failing to understand a topic solved by a 3 minute video, you're a life saver! Also, is it true that an unstable nucleus can give off more than one type of radiation at a time. E.g- alpha radiation and gamma? And if so, will you ever need to answer questions based off that in the actual exam?

[@2007unknown]

Bro i have my gcse this yr snd this guy is making it better for me

[@ruarispooner5802]

you and mr.heagrty should do a collab

[@maryamboroomand469]

it might seem crazy what im bouta say

[@whocares3228]

Thank you very much very helpful it would be helpful if you go through physics and chemistry biology paper on how to do the question

[@KittyPikaChu]

is it worrying that im in year 11 and my class has never learnt this content yet

[@miaheron3771]

kitty don’t worry, we haven’t either

[@guestj9213]

jojo fans are literally everywhere

[@monkeyurameshi6092]

@@guestj9213 everything is jojo reference u cant escape

[@bobbobbington7918]

Yes

[@amadif1793]

Exam is in an hour and I’m cramming in the final unit, wish me luck bois...

[@jamesmurphy9845]

How did it go

[@stormyprawn]

Shaun your shoulders must hurt from carrying all of our science GCSEs

[@Fortune-k7m]

This man is the best

[@havesomesaltytea2230]

Got my paper this June 😭😭😭 wish me luck Shaun you’re my lifeline

[@Freesciencelessons]

Good luck.

[@heyehyemoboy]

revising for my mocks rn, thanks g

[@chelseanamuddu3033]

Love how he's said not to get bogged down by the idea that an alpha particle is same as a helium ion, I've been waiting for someone to please tell me whhhhyyyyy it is so.

[@Freesciencelessons]

A helium ion is a helium atom with no electrons in other words 2 protons and 2 neutrons (ie the helium nucleus). An alpha particle is 2 protons and 2 neutrons. Therefore the alpha particle is essentially the same as the helium nucleus (or helium ion since they're the same thing).

[@pineridge9426]

@@Freesciencelessons Thank yooouuuuuu.🙃

[@pratheesh2105]

he's in a cheery mood today

[@zezohollyshit4205]

احسن من مدرسين الهبل thank you for this beautiful video ✨⭐️

[@lowquallityrobloxvideos5530]

The teacher: Alright, pop quiz today! The students: 3:25

[@unknownerror169]

what?

[@androidgamingtutorials7910]

No one Half of the comments:. This guy explains better than my teacher. Fact is fact

[@oliviaelliott1333]

So grateful! Very useful :)

[@BenDover-ej8de]

Thanks my guy still in the grade fours but working on it 😘

[@doraemonlovers7107]

Respected Sir* These Videos are really helping us..After I do Good in my exams..£I will surely remember your help

[@sananaveed7401]

I will be taking exams next week .I will edit this to give you my grades if they are good .

[@willowforester225]

Very helpful! Thank you so much!

[@binghamguevara6814]

I wonder if this guys still alive. He’s become an internet legend.

[@f2p781]

He's still posting videos, but A-level ones because he's finished with GCSE

[@jaffryjaman4951]

Hello , could you explain how a neutron changes into a proton and an electron, Thanks!

[@JohnSmith-ph3rp]

Watching this 2 hours before my mock

[@staceybaker5176]

Honestly u explain it in 3 minutes me teacher take like 5 lessons 🤦🏾‍♀️

[@Waldo-yi9dr]

such an amazing help thanks

[@archiemt74]

Physics exam tomorrow, let’s go.

[@rachellanglois5223]

omg same

[@tristanbuswell7]

do we need to know about the geiger-muller tube for the GCSE exam?

[@shirali_ali]

hi guys you're probably taking your mocks atm like I am good luck!!!!! even if you do badly remember there is still along time so don't be sad :) we have like 5 months

[@rohansisodiya9669]

I love his vids 🥴😍😳

[@Nick-ef5uq]

GCSEs in 11 days 🎉

[@excaliber2845]

less than 12 hours

[@rohinihrudhay5600]

Thank you for the lesson

[@imaneb3129]

Is this all the information needed for the higher paper? because i feel like there is more added information for the higher tier. Have you made any videos considering the higher tier or is this all based for foundation?

[@SachGaming]

Imane Boubendir I'm pretty sure it's based on higher, it fulfills the spec. The next video covers the properties.

[@Jasmine-tr7yf]

The next video in the series is on the properties of alpha, beta and gamma so he covers that stuff there :)

[@Nahin_-es6qm]

Do we not need to know anything about the neutron?

[@sabaxo311]

how do neutrons ionize??

[@kareenagopaul8061]

Please do videos for A level Physics 🙏

[@twunfay1967]

very helpful thanks very much

[@MohammadMujtabaSharifi]

Can you tell the problems associated with radioactive isotopes ??

[@michellematsenjwa9780]

Thank you!

[@ruqaiyavip]

Thx man

[@xcode3735]

Thanks alot bro

[@sunwoop]

i love you so much 😎

[@ashleymavhima983]

Thank you so helpful

[@mutusingh4727]

How is neutron a radioactive source, I thought only alphas, beta and gamma were

[@Freesciencelessons]

No, a neutron is also a type of radiation (it is not a radioactive source though).

[@mutusingh4727]

Freesciencelessons what is the difference between radioactive source and type of radiation

[@bananabird7584]

@@mutusingh4727 I don't think there is a difference. A radioactive source is already a source emiting radiation.

[@chloefarrer6633]

do we have to know about proton radiation in detail ?

[@johnnicholas980]

I love your vids baby

[@harlem8764]

One question. Do you know or have ever taught Psychology? Also, do you consider it to be a science subject and do you think students SHOULD learn it?

[@Freesciencelessons]

No I never have. Psychology is a science but the way their experiments are designed have to take into account various factors (for example, do people behave normally when being observed etc). I think that students should learn it if they find it interesting.

[@calibi8693]

​@@Freesciencelessons When I see the channel commenting, is it Shaun himself or a admin?

[@emilrinuabraham2235]

Human rights and freedoms

[@mishalhassan2578]

Thanks a lot

[@archjanasivasuthan6252]

Thanks sir!!!

[@cxxkie__5236]

Hello sir, could you explain how a neutron changes into a proton and electron? i'm finding it hard to understand

[@Freesciencelessons]

You don't need to understand it for GCSE, you just need to remember it. How it takes place is heading into A Level Physics.

[@cxxkie__5236]

@@Freesciencelessons oh okay thank you

[@sea5205]

Thanks!

[@XVI2073]

it takes this guy 3 minutes to say the same thing as my teachers who say it in 30.

[@AlfarooqAlmenghawi]

what is the name of the audio that you use in the start and end of the video

[@nisknisk5355]

Physics tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!

[@chenrui9354]

@Freesciencelessons For the fourth type of radiation (releasing a neutron), how much detail do we ned to know about it? Simply that such radiation exists or more?

[@Freesciencelessons]

You simply need to know that it exists, according to the spec. However, they could give you some information about it and ask you to apply it, for example the atomic and mass numbers before and after neutron emission.

[@jargent4833]

if a neutron changes to a proton and electron to create a beta particle, does that then mean the isotope is a different element??

[@Freesciencelessons]

Yes that's correct. This will produce a different element.

[@sarahrutter4084]

How is a Neuton the fourth? How does it get emmited?

[@mylesmudabetimudabeti9263]

If it's unstable then it loses particles in the form of radiation! If stable it won't emit i guess

[@UniversalOreo]

what the top comment said but now its a part of a lesson

[@tropicalblu1123]

I was watching every single lesson because I have a test toda

[@Chan_tbh]

Hey sir, can you make a video on radiation in and out of atoms, covering emission and absorption spectrum. Thanks it would mean a lot.

[@444etheralfaïry]

Skip to 3:28 to see something cute.

[@HH-fu1ol]

Someone below has stated that this doesn't cover everything for higher paper is thus true? Or does it cover everything we need to know for the higher paper?

[@Freesciencelessons]

No all my videos include everything for both higher and foundation. Anything which is specifically for higher only is flagged up in the video.

[@mikail0]

watching 30 minutes before my gcse

[@aucklandknights1859]

Legend.

[@chaphidoesstuff]

Shaun is the guy❤

[@sjs2320]

@Freesciencelessons Which exam board is this for?

[@f2p781]

I'm late, but this is AQA

[@hana-yt5yh]

thank you sir

[@annvbelle]

GCSE year of 2020 anyone ?

[@lukedotterill1717]

this got me my english degree at anglia ruskin

[@Deniz-fu1eh]

man said neutron radiaton, man didnt even learn bout dem tings ukno

[@Iemons]

This is the most millennial thing I read today.

[@allasian452]

What is an example of a radioactivity source?

[@fazullahallam5284]

search up on google innit or ask ur teacher

[@dominika8196]

Bananas

[@PurityOloghoejebi]

Is this for Combin3d

[@fatmailhanabdulqaadir697]

Thank you

[@logang1200]

Nice

[@amnabaloch6245]

I have understand everything like I have done masters in physcis but solving exam type question. Oh I don't know anything😑

[@fireemperorzuko8756]

If you've done masters in physics you need to be able to solve exam type questions, they're simple compared to A level physics

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i love you white man

[@meronsamson5397]

Love youuu

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I LOVE YOU

[@Arush.S]

I love oyu

[@fawad5267]

Why was that particle radioactive can anyone explain

[@1SophieDEF1]

All we need to know is that an unstable atom is essentially just an atom with too many neutrons. I think the instability is to do with the strong force holding the nucleus together being weakened because there are so many neutrons but it's quite a complex idea so I'm not too sure!

[@arslancharyyevich7447]

of course

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