Question

how do the ionizing power and penetrating power of gamma particles compare to other types of radiation? gamma rays have low ionizing power and low penetrating power. gamma rays have intermediate ionizing power and penetrating power. gamma rays have low ionizing power and high penetrating power. gamma rays have high ionizing power and high penetrating power. gamma rays have high ionizing power and very low penetrating power.

Explanation:

To solve this, we recall the properties of gamma radiation (γ - rays) compared to other types (like alpha, beta). Gamma rays are high - energy photons. They interact weakly with matter, so they have low ionizing power (since ionizing power depends on how easily they can knock electrons out of atoms, and their weak interaction means fewer ionizations). However, because they interact weakly, they can travel through more matter before being absorbed, giving them high penetrating power. Now let's analyze each option:

• Option 1: Gamma rays don't have low penetrating power, so this is wrong.
• Option 2: Their ionizing and penetrating power aren't intermediate. Alpha has high ionizing/low penetrating, beta intermediate ionizing/intermediate penetrating, gamma low ionizing/high penetrating. So this is wrong.
• Option 3: This matches the properties of gamma rays (low ionizing, high penetrating).
• Option 4: Gamma rays have low, not high, ionizing power. So this is wrong.
• Option 5: Gamma rays have high, not very low, penetrating power and low, not high, ionizing power. So this is wrong.

Answer:

C. Gamma rays have low ionizing power and high penetrating power. (Note: Assuming the options are labeled A - E in order, the third option is the correct one. If the original options had labels, use the correct label with the text. Here, based on the order, the correct option is the one stating "Gamma rays have low ionizing power and high penetrating power".)