Deck 32: Nuclear Physics and Nuclear Radiation

Question 1

All nuclei of a given element have the same number of neutrons.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

A fusion reaction generates energy by combining lighter nuclei into a heavier nucleus, plus additional particles.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Quarks can only have a charge of +(2/3)e or -(1/3)e, while antiquarks can only have charges of -(2/3)e or +(1/3)e.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The density of a nucleus (to a reasonable approximation) is independent of the mass number.

Question 5

The Sun is powered by the proton-proton cycle.

Question 6

The competition between the electrostatic force between the protons in a nucleus and the strong nuclear force determines whether a nucleus is stable.

Question 7

Particles made up of two quarks must consist of a quark-antiquark pair.

Question 8

Gravity waves are produced when a mass accelerates.

Question 9

The radius of a nucleus is proportional to what power of the mass number?

A) 1/2
B) 1/3
C) 1/4
D) 2/5
E) 3/8

Question 10

One type of event that may generate gravity waves of sufficient strength to be detected with current equipment is the death spiral of a neutron star as it plunges into a black hole.

Question 11

A moderator is inserted into a fission reaction to absorb neutrons and prevent additional fissions.

Question 12

The nuclei of different isotopes of a given element have the same number of

A) protons.
B) neutrons.
C) nucleons.
D) electrons.
E) positrons.

Question 13

Photons associated with the magnetic field used in magnetic resonance imaging have considerably less energy than the photons used in CT scans.

Question 14

The proton is slightly more massive than the neutron.

Question 15

The force between two quarks increases with separation.

Question 16

What combination of quarks produces a proton and what are the electric charges on these quarks, expressed in terms of e?

Question 17

The atomic number is equal to the number of what particles in the nucleus?

A) protons
B) neutrons
C) nucleons
D) electrons
E) positrons.

Question 18

The mass number is equal to the number of what particles in the nucleus?

A) protons
B) neutrons
C) nucleons
D) electrons
E) positrons.

Question 19

The strong nuclear force acts only on neutral particles.

Question 20

What combination of quarks produces a neutron and what are the electric charges on these quarks, expressed in terms of e?

Question 21

A β^- decay occurs in an unstable nucleus when

A) a proton is converted to an electron by the strong force.
B) a proton is converted to a neutron by the strong force.
C) a neutron is converted to a proton by the weak force.
D) a neutron is converted to an alpha particle by the weak force.
E) a neutron is converted to a beta particle by the weak force.

Question 22

The symbol for deuterium is . How many protons are there in a deuterium nucleus?

Question 23

When an unstable nucleus decays by emitting an alpha particle, the atomic number of the nucleus

A) increases by 4.
B) increases by 2.
C) decreases by 2.
D) decreases by 4.
E) remains unchanged.

Question 24

The weakest of the four fundamental forces is

A) the weak nuclear force.
B) the electromagnetic force.
C) the gravitational force.
D) the strong nuclear force.

Question 25

In beta minus decay, the number of protons in the nucleus is

A) decreased by 1.
B) decreased by 2.
C) increased by 1.
D) increased by 2.
E) remains unchanged.

Question 26

In beta decay, it is found that the energy of the emitted electrons varies and is always less than what is calculated on the basis of the parent and daughter nuclei. This is evidence for the existence of another particle called the

A) gluon.
B) meson.
C) neutrino.
D) quark.
E) positrons.

Question 27

In beta minus decay, the number of neutrons in the nucleus is

A) decreased by 1.
B) decreased by 2.
C) increased by 1.
D) increased by 2.
E) remains unchanged.

Question 28

Composite particles that are composed of three quarks are called

A) leptons.
B) hadrons.
C) mesons.
D) bosons.
E) baryons.

Question 29

When an unstable nucleus decays by emitting an alpha particle, the atomic mass number of the nucleus

A) increases by 4.
B) increases by 2.
C) decreases by 2.
D) decreases by 4.
E) remains unchanged.

Question 30

Elementary particles that experience the weak nuclear force but not the strong force are called

A) leptons.
B) hadrons.
C) mesons.
D) bosons.
E) baryons.

Question 31

The nuclei of are also known as

A) α particles.
B) β particles.
C) γ rays.
D) X-rays.
E) K-rays.

Question 32

What type of scan is used to find the areas of the body where glucose metabolism is most intense?

A) PET scans
B) CT scans
C) MRI
D) radioactive iodine tracers

Question 33

One of the particle groups listed below includes two other groups on the list. Which group is it?

A) leptons
B) hadrons
C) mesons
D) bosons.
E) baryons

Question 34

What are the mass number and the atomic number for each of the following:
(a) proton?
(b) neutron?
(c) alpha particle?

Question 35

Polonium-216 decays to lead-212 by emitting what kind of nuclear radiation?

A) Alpha
B) Beta minus
C) Beta plus
D) Gamma
E) X-rays.

Question 36

Scientists hope that some day they will be able to produce a theory which will combine the strong force, the weak nuclear force, and electromagnetism. This theory has been called

A) The Grand Unified Theory.
B) The Theory of Everything.
C) The Unified Field Theory.
D) The Electroweak Theory.
E) The Electrostrong Theory.

Question 37

A fusion reaction works because the binding energy of the resulting nucleus

A) is greater than the binding energy of the original nuclei.
B) is equal to the binding energy of the original nuclei.
C) is less than the binding energy of the original nuclei.
D) is released in the process.
E) is absorbed in the process.

Question 38

A fission reaction in which more neutrons are given off than are needed to initiate the reaction is called

A) a critical reaction.
B) a chain reaction.
C) a fusion reaction.
D) a neutron catastrophe.
E) a chemical reaction.

Question 39

Francium-223 decays to radium-223 by emitting what kind of nuclear radiation?

A) Alpha
B) Beta minus
C) Beta plus
D) Gamma
E) X-rays.

Question 40

Composite particles that are composed of two quarks are called

A) leptons.
B) hadrons.
C) mesons.
D) bosons.
E) baryons.

Question 41

Consider a particle composed of quarks.
(a) The negative pion is composed of what combination of up and down quarks?
(b) Is the negative pion a baryon or meson?
(c) Is the negative pion a lepton or a hadron?

Question 42

Write the nuclear notation for the following nuclei:
Hydrogen-2, Sulfur-33, and Lead-207.

Question 43

A radioactive substance containing 4.00 × 10¹⁶ unstable atoms has a half-life of 2.0 days. What is its activity (in curies) after 1 day?

Question 44

What is the approximate nuclear radius of an isotope of sodium with 11 protons and 12 neutrons?

Question 45

The activity of a sample reduces from 7.55 × 10⁹ Bq to 5.11 × 10⁹ Bq in 5.50 months.
(a) What is the half life?
(b) How many months must one wait for the activity to decrease to 10%?

Question 46

Complete the following nuclear decay equation:
→ + ________

Question 47

Suppose that in a certain collection of nuclei there were initially 1024 nuclei and 20 minutes later there was only one nuclei left, the others having decayed. On the basis of this information, how many nuclei would you estimate decayed in the first 6 minutes?

Question 48

Polonium-215 alpha decays with a half life of 1.8 ms.
(a) How much is left after 1. second?
(b) What is the daughter nucleus?

Question 49

The symbol for a certain isotope of polonium is . How many neutrons are there in the nucleus of this isotope?

A) 84
B) 130
C) 214
D) 298
E) 314

Question 50

Complete the following nuclear decay equation:
+ ________ →

Question 51

An old bone sample contains 321. grams of carbon and its activity is 947. decays/min.
(5730. yr half life of Carbon-14)
(a) How many thousand years old is the sample?
(b) What will be the activity of the sample 2000. yrs from now?

Question 52

One mole of Strontium-90 is decaying with a half life of 28. years. After 61. years, how much Strontium is left and what is its activity?

Question 53

The symbol for a certain isotope of radium is . How many nucleons are there in the nucleus of this isotope?

A) 88
B) 138
C) 214
D) 226
E) 314

Question 54

If the "half life" for Radium-226 is 1600. years, how long is the "quarter life"?

Question 55

If a nuclide has a decay constant of 0.765 × 10^-6 s^-1 and contains 3.0 × 10¹⁷ nuclei
(a) what is the half life?
(b) what is its initial activity?
(c) what is the activity after 12. days?

Question 56

The symbol for a certain isotope of strontium is . What is the mass number of this isotope?

A) 38
B) 52
C) 88
D) 90
E) 128

Question 57

How much energy is required to remove one proton from ⁹Be?

Question 58

What are the mass number and the atomic number for each of the following:
(a) beta⁺?
(b) beta^-?

Question 59

Consider the fission reaction:
+ → 2 fission products + 2 n's
(a) Estimate the energy released in the reaction.
(b) If 3 neutrons had been released instead of 2, what energy would have been released?

Question 60

A sodium-22 nucleus ( ) decays into a neon-22 nucleus ( ) and one other particle. What is the other particle?

Question 61

Rutherfordium-261 has a half-life of 1.08 min. How long will it take for a sample of rutherfordium to lose one-third of its nuclei?

A) 1.02 min
B) 1.62 min
C) 0.63 min
D) 2.70 min
E) 3.24 min

Question 62

What is the density of the nucleus of ⁹⁰Sr?

A) greater than 3 × 10²⁰ kg/m³
B) 90 kg/m³
C) 2.1 × 10¹⁹ kg/m³
D) 2.0 × 10¹⁵ kg/m³
E) 2.3 × 10¹⁷ kg/m³

Question 63

The neutral helium atom, , has a mass of 4.002603 u, a neutron has a mass of 1.008665 u, a proton has a mass of 1.007277 u, and a neutral hydrogen atom has a mass of 1.007825 u. What is the binding energy of the nucleus? 1 u = 931.494 MeV/c².

A) 20.5 MeV
B) 22.4 MeV
C) 27.3 MeV
D) 28.3 MeV
E) 23.4 MeV

Question 64

Fermium-253 has a half-life of 3.00 days. A sample of fermium has 3.88 × 10⁶ nuclei. What is the initial activity of this sample?

A) 10.4 Bq
B) 10.4 Ci
C) 12.9 Bq
D) 12.9 Ci

Question 65

is radioactive and decays in a series to . In this series, the particles ejected from the nucleus are

A) one alpha particle and three beta particles.
B) three alpha particles and one beta particles.
C) one alpha particle and four beta particles.
D) four alpha particle and one beta particle.
E) two alpha particles and two beta particles.

Question 66

A certain substance has a half-life of 5.0 hours. How many nuclei of the substance are required to give an initial activity of 6.0 μCi? 1 Ci = 3.7 × 10¹⁰ Bq.

A) 5.8 × 10⁹ nuclei
B) 8.5 × 10⁸ nuclei
C) 6.3 × 10⁸ nuclei
D) 3.2 × 10⁹ nuclei
E) 2.4 × 10⁹ nuclei

Question 67

The neutral deuterium atom, , has a mass of 2.014102 u; a neutral hydrogen atom has a mass of 1.007825 u; a neutron has a mass of 1.008665 u; and a proton has a mass of 1.007277 u. What is the binding energy of the nucleus? 1 u = 931.494 MeV/c².

A) 1.1 MeV
B) 1.7 MeV
C) 2.2 MeV
D) 2.9 MeV
E) 3.4 MeV

Question 68

What is the nuclear radius of ⁹⁰Sr?

A) 4.0 × 10^-15 m
B) 1.2 × 10^-15 m
C) 1.1 × 10^-13 m
D) 5.4 × 10^-15 m
E) 3.3 × 10^-13 m

Question 69

The number of radioactive nuclei in a particular sample decreases to one-eighth of its original number in 9 days. What is the half-life of these nuclei?

A) 9/8 days
B) 2 days
C) 3 days
D) 8 days
E) 10 days

Question 70

An electron and a positron annihilate each other, emitting two identical photons in the process. What is the wavelength of these photons? The mass of an electron or positron is 9.11 × 10^-31 kg and h = 6.63 × 10^-34 Js.

A) 1.21 × 10^-12 m
B) 1.73 × 10^-12 m
C) 2.43 × 10^-12 m
D) 3.07 × 10^-12 m
E) 3.46 × 10^-12 m

Question 71

Uranium-238 decays into thorium-234 plus an alpha particle. How much energy is released in this process? 1 u = 931.494 MeV/c². The relevant mass values are:
, 4.002603 u; , 234.043583 u; , 238.050786 u.

A) 4.28 MeV
B) 3.76 MeV
C) 3.18 MeV
D) 2.89 MeV
E) 5.05 MeV

Question 72

The decay constant of radon is 0.181 day s^-1. A sample of radon contains 6.00 × 10⁸ radon atoms. How many atoms are left after 10.0 days?

A) 9.82 × 10⁷
B) 7.67 × 10⁷
C) 8.34 × 10⁸
D) 7.29 × 10⁸
E) 8.56 × 10⁸

Question 73

Americium-243 has a decay constant of 9.39 × 10^-5 years^-1. How long will it take for a sample of americium to lose one-third of its nuclei?

A) 2960 s
B) 10.6 × 10³ years
C) 4.32 × 10³ years
D) 6.44 × 10³ years
E) 7.84 × 10³ years

Question 74

Radium-226 decays into radon-222 plus an alpha particle. How much energy is released in this process? 1 u = 931.494 MeV/c². The relevant mass values are:
, 4.002603 u; , 222.017570 u; , 226.025402 u.

A) 4.24 MeV
B) 3.76 MeV
C) 4.87 MeV
D) 5.05 MeV
E) 5.39 MeV

Question 75

Plutonium-239 decays into uranium-235 plus an alpha particle. The energy released in the process is 5.24 MeV. Given the following mass values: , 4.002603 u; , 235.043924 u; what is the mass value of ?
1 u = 931.494 MeV/c².

A) 239.052157 u
B) 239.027750 u
C) 239.001889 u
D) 238.9991889 u
E) 238.988842 u

Question 76

Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 years. A sample of wood has been recovered by an archaeologist. The sample is sent to a laboratory, where it is determined that the activity of the sample is 0.144 Bq/g. By comparing this activity with the activity of living organic matter, 0.230 Bq/g, the scientist determines how old the wood sample is, or more precisely, when the tree that the sample came from died. How old is the sample of wood?

A) 3870 years
B) 4250 years
C) 4590 years
D) 2630 years
E) 2940 years

Question 77

Fermium-253 has a half-life of 3.00 days. A sample of fermium has 7.37 × 10⁷ nuclei. How long will it take for there to be only 3.36 × 10⁶ fermium nuclei in this sample?

A) 2.75 days
B) 9.80 days
C) 13.4 days
D) 15.7 days
E) 58.6 days

Question 78

An oxygen-15 nucleus ( ) decays by emitting a β+ ray and one other particle. What is the other particle?

A)
B)
C)
D)
E)

Question 79

A stationary plutonium-239 nucleus decays into a uranium-235 nucleus plus an alpha particle. The energy released in the process is 5.24 MeV. Given the following mass values: , 4.002603 u; , 235.043924 u; what is the kinetic energy of the nucleus?
1 u =931.494 MeV/c².

A) 0.0829 MeV
B) 0.0837 MeV
C) 0.0852 MeV
D) 0.0863 MeV
E) 0.0877 MeV

Question 80

Rutherfordium-261 has a half-life of 1.08 min. What is the decay constant of rutherfordium?

A) 0.0107 s^-1
B) 0.0154 s^-1
C) 1.87 s^-1
D) 2.91 s^-1
E) 0.344 s^-1