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Dear student,
We’re almost there, just a few more weeks and another year will be done. The last chapter we’ll cover is called "Atomic structure and radiation" and you'll notice that it follows nicely on what you've already done in chemistry while it doesn't connect with what you did in Physics this year. That is of course a great opportunity but also a bit of a risk.
Good news and a warning.
For this chapter, you won't need a lot of what you've learnt in Physics during this third year and that's great news for everybody who struggled a bit this year, you'll be able to score a lot higher than you've done so far. Every year, there are quite a few students that pick up their average grade enough to pass this but also, quite a few students that completely underestimate this chapter. The students that believe that they can study for this test by just reading through it are in for a shock, this is still a subject at HAVO or VWO level. Especially the test in the testweek turns out disappointing for too many students.
The test
On the test, you'll only get multiple choice questions but don't kid yourself, this does not make it any easier. To the right, there's an example of a typical question (from HAVO EM).
Also, every year the teachers invigilating the test tell us that the test was far too short and loads of students were done within ten minutes or so. When I grade the test then, these students score two's and three's because they only thought it was easy.
Like I said, this chapter can be a great opportunity, it can also be your downfall.
What will be on the test?
There will be eight versions of the test, one for each of the profiles and, all four of them in a HAVO and VWO version of course. The (average) distribution of the points is shown below.
History
Atomic structure
Radiation types
Nuclear decay
Miscellaneous
Economic quandary
Social quandary
HAVO EM
15 %
30 %
5 %
20 %
20 %
10 %
0 %
HAVO CM
17,5 %
27,5 %
5 %
20 %
20 %
0 %
10 %
HAVO NG
12,5 %
25 %
5 %
32,5 %
25 %
0 %
0 %
HAVO NT
12,5 %
25 %
5 %
32,5 %
25 %
0 %
0 %
History
Atomic structure
Radiation types
Nuclear decay
Miscellaneous
Economic quandary
Social quandary
VWO EM
12,5 %
30 %
5 %
22,5 %
17,5 %
12,5 %
0 %
VWO CM
15 %
30 %
5 %
20 %
17,5 %
0 %
12,5 %
VWO NG
12,5 %
30 %
5 %
32,5 %
25 %
0 %
0 %
VWO NT
12,5 %
30 %
5 %
32,5 %
25 %
0 %
0 %
The test is going to be a Woots-test. It will be your responsibility to bring a functioning and charged laptop with you. In one of the lessons, we'll also install the safe-exam browser.
Note: The material has been selected to be balanced between the profiles and at least passingly intresting for the students who have chosed said profile. This does not mean that you must take the test of your profile. It is reccomended but not mandated.
Why is this chapter so important?
An easy question for the people doing NT or NG; It’s part of the material you need to know for your exam. For the students who have chosen CM or CM, this chapter is still important because “radiation” is much more than just technical theory.
The next general election is planned for 2028 so it's going to depend on the exact date as to whether you get to vote. Nuclear research and energy are things the government needs to decide upon and you will be in a position to help decide who gets to make those decisions but you will need some knowledge to cast a well-informed vote.
Research and medical applications.
This moment, a reactor in the Dutch town of Petten is producing radioactive materials for medical treatment. In this, they are the largest producer in the world. 30% of all radiological treatments in the world and 60 to 70% of all those treatments in Europe are carried out with materials from Petten. That's 30 000 patients each day! Still, every now and again a politician in the Dutch government cheerfully suggests that we could just stop doing that.
Energy.
The Netherlands has one working nuclear power station but; We want to close all coal burning power stations because of the exhaust fumes; We can't use gas from Groningen anymore because those wells have been closed (see: Rijksoverheid); We don't want to buy Russian gas because of the war in the Ukraine but we do want to have a nice and hot shower each morning and charge our laptops. This requires a solution.
During the first six months of 2023, almost half of our electricity was generated from renewable sources, 46% to be exact. During 2024, there was a period in which more than half the electricity of the entire EU was produced sustainably (see: NOS). So that's all electricity from solar panels, windmills, hydroelectric dams and burning biomass. Seeing as this was just 33,2% in 2021, it has been a great improvement but whether this growth can be maintained is up for debate. There have been quite a few protests against placing solar panels and windmills on land and the windmills at sea are turned off during the migration of sea birds.
Also, electrical energy is just part of our energy requirement, the school for example is not heated by electricity. If we take all energy into consideration, just 17% of it was generated from renewable sources. The Netherlands wants to reach 100% renewable energy in 2050 so we have quite a few tings to achieve, and to decide upon.
The current and incoming government believes that nuclear energy is part of the solution, whether that stays that way is something you are allowed to have a say in.
It might sound pretentious but one of the tasks of a school is to prepare you for good citizenship and being able to cast a well-informed vote in the general election is part of good citizenship. Democracy is one of the most important parts of our society (next to livelihood etc.) but democracy is also fragile. When too many ill-informed people cast a vote, the ramifications can be felt for years or even generations. Everybody who has kept an eye on the news during covid will have been astounded to see that many people simply denying the epidemic (until they got ill themselves) and far too many people took medical advice from a dance instructor over that of their own GP (general practitioner, Dutch: huisarts).
Obviously, you are entitled to believe and follow what and whomever you want but a good citizen will make up his or her mind using facts over fantasy and propaganda. That is why this chapter is so important.
M.Cuperus
23/5/25
What do you need?
A notebook. You can't do most of the exercises online (yet).
Click the navigation on top to continue.
Title picture on this (and other pages)
School building: Lector studiebegeleiding. Retrieved at 9/1/2021 from https://lectorstudiebegeleiding.nl/gouda-antoniuscollege/
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