Nuclear Instability and Radius A level Physics

This is a lesson I used myself to teach the Nuclear Instability and Nuclear Radius concept of the Nuclear physics Unit - A level Physics, AQA specification.

Learning objective: Understand how the structure and size of the nucleus is determined through decay modes, closest approach, and electron scattering, and evaluate what nuclear density reveals about atomic structure.

By the end of the lesson learners should be able to:

Success criteria:

SC1: I can describe how different types of radioactive decay restore nuclear stability based on neutron-proton imbalance.

SC2: I can calculate nuclear radius using both the closest approach method and electron diffraction data.

SC3: I can explain how the concept of nuclear density supports the nuclear model of the atom and highlights the small size of the nucleus relative to the whole atom.

Contains past paper questions that target this topic, some questions require knowledge from prior lessons. The mark scheme is also included to verify answers.

Powerpoint contains 13 slides and 6 past paper questions.