Deck 29: Nuclear Physics

Question 1

What is the element X for the nuclide ⁶⁴₃₀X?

A) Zn
B) Se
C) Gd
D) Ge

Answer 1

Zn

Question 2

What nuclide has 14 protons and 16 neutrons?

A) ¹⁶S
B) ¹⁴O
C) ³⁰Si
D) ³⁰S

Answer 2

³⁰Si

Question 3

What is the density of the ²³⁸U nucleus?

A) 2.3 $\times$ 10¹⁷ kg/m³
B) 9.6 $\times$ 10¹⁴ kg/m³
C) 3.2 $\times$ 10¹⁴ kg/m³
D) 2.38 $\times$ 10⁵ kg/m³
E) 1.0 $\times$ 10³ kg/m³

Answer 3

2.3 $\times$ 10¹⁷ kg/m³

Question 4

If a nucleus has a volume of 1.0 $\times$ 10^-42 m³,what is its mass number?

A) 1
B) 25
C) 100
D) 138
E) 174

Question 5

In the reaction ⁴He + ⁹Be $\rarr$ n + ¹²C how much energy is released or absorbed? The mass of ⁴He is 4.0026032 u,the mass of ⁹Be is 9.0121821 u,the mass of n is 1.0086649 u,and the mass of ¹²C is 12.0000000 u.

A) 4.21 MeV absorbed
B) 4.21 MeV released
C) 5.70 MeV absorbed
D) 5.70 MeV released
E) 6.34 MeV released

Question 6

How many neutrons are in a ³⁵Cl nucleus?

A) 17
B) 18
C) 16
D) 19

Question 7

One pg (picogram) of ⁴⁰K has how many nuclei?

A) 6.0 $\times$ 10¹⁷
B) 6.0 $\times$ 10¹¹
C) 1.5 $\times$ 10²²
D) 3.0 $\times$ 10¹¹
E) 1.5 $\times$ 10¹⁰

Question 8

A nuclide whose "generic" symbol is ⁶⁴₃₀X would have ______ protons and ______ neutrons.

A) 64,30
B) 30,64
C) 30,34
D) 34,30

Question 9

What is the symbol for the nuclide with 38 protons and 50 neutrons?

A) ⁵⁰₃₈Sr
B) ³⁸₅₀Sn
C) ⁸⁸₃₈Sr
D) ⁸⁸₅₀Sn

Question 10

¹⁶O,¹⁷O,and ¹⁸O are ________ of oxygen.

A) isotones
B) isotopes
C) isobars
D) isomers
E) isotherms

Question 11

How many neutrons are in a ¹⁵C nucleus?

A) 7
B) 8
C) 6
D) 9

Question 12

In the reaction n + ¹²C $\rarr$ $\alpha$ + ? ,what is the product nucleus?

A) ¹³C
B) ⁹C
C) ¹⁰B
D) ⁹B
E) ⁹Be

Question 13

One mole of ⁴⁰Ar (Z = 18) has about what mass?

A) 18 g
B) 22 g
C) 40 kg
D) 40 g
E) 22 kg

Question 14

The particles in the nucleus referred to as nucleons are

A) electrons and protons.
B) protons and neutrons.
C) neutrons and electrons.
D) electrons and photons.

Question 15

What is the symbol for the nuclide with 46 protons and 92 neutrons?

A) ⁹²₄₆Pd
B) ¹³⁸₉₂U
C) ¹³⁸₄₆Pd
D) ⁴⁶₉₂U

Question 16

How many atoms are in one gram of ²⁷₁₃Al?

A) 1.63 $\times$ 10²⁵
B) 6.02 $\times$ 10²²
C) 1.51 $\times$ 10²³
D) 2.23 $\times$ 10²⁵
E) 2.23 $\times$ 10²²

Question 17

What is the radius of a nuclide with mass number 187?

A) 187 fm
B) 5.70 fm
C) 6.90 fm
D) 4.80 fm
E) 0.187 fm

Question 18

Isotopes of an element have the same number of ________ but different numbers of _______.

A) neutrons,protons
B) electrons,protons
C) protons,neutrons
D) neutrons,electrons
E) protons,electrons

Question 19

One mole of ²⁷₁₃Al has a mass of _______ g.

A) 13
B) 27
C) 14
D) 20
E) 40

Question 20

What is the volume of the ²³⁸₉₂U nucleus?

A) 6.7 $\times$ 10^-43 m³
B) 5.2 $\times$ 10^-42 m³
C) 1.7 $\times$ 10^-42 m³
D) 1.6 $\times$ 10^-42 m³
E) 1.2 $\times$ 10^-12 m³

Question 21

Who was the discoverer of radioactivity?

A) Neils Bohr
B) Marie Curie
C) Albert Einstein
D) Henri Becquerel
E) Richard Feynman

Question 22

Of the following conservation laws,which (if any) is not obeyed in radioactive decay?

A) energy
B) momentum
C) charge
D) angular momentum
E) All of these conservation laws are obeyed.

Question 23

In beta-minus decay,which neutrino is emitted?

A) the electron neutrino
B) the electron antineutrino
C) the muon neutrino
D) the muon antineutrino
E) the tau neutrino

Question 24

What is the binding energy of an alpha particle?

A) 2.20 MeV
B) 50.0 MeV
C) 28.29 MeV
D) 21.22 MeV

Question 25

The binding energy per nucleon is about ______ MeV around A = 60 and about ______ MeV around A = 240.

A) 9.4 , 7.0
B) 7.6 , 8.7
C) 7.0 , 9.4
D) 7.0 , 8.0
E) 8.7 , 7.6

Question 26

In the nucleus,the maximum number of neutrons in a neutron energy level is (are)______ and the maximum number of protons in a proton energy level is (are)______.

A) 1,1
B) 1,2
C) 2,1
D) 2,2
E) 2,8

Question 27

The types of radiation from nuclei were originally named alpha,beta,and gamma rays.In order of increasing ability to penetrate matter,these are

A) alpha,beta,gamma.
B) beta,gamma,alpha.
C) gamma,alpha,beta.
D) alpha,gamma,beta.
E) gamma,beta,alpha.

Question 28

The symbol ⁰₁e is used to represent the ________.

A) proton
B) positron
C) antiproton
D) neutrino
E) electron

Question 29

When ²⁴¹Am decays by emitting an alpha particle of kinetic energy 5.49 MeV,what is the recoil energy of the daughter nucleus?

A) 5.49 MeV
B) 1.27 MeV
C) 0.880 MeV
D) 0.0930 MeV
E) 0.0910 MeV

Question 30

What is the binding energy per nucleon for ¹²C?

A) 137 MeV
B) 104 MeV
C) 92.2 MeV
D) 46.1 MeV
E) 7.68 MeV

Question 31

What is the mass defect of an alpha particle?

A) 0.03037 $\mu$
B) 0.30370 $\mu$
C) 0.03528 $\mu$
D) 0.03941 $\mu$

Question 32

²⁸Al decays by beta-minus decay.What is the daughter nucleus?

A) ²⁸Mg
B) ²⁷Al
C) ²⁴Na
D) ²⁸Si
E) ²⁷Si

Question 33

The neutrino was proposed by Pauli to overcome the apparent violation of which of the following conservation laws in beta decay?

A) energy
B) momentum
C) energy and momentum
D) charge
E) energy,momentum,and charge

Question 34

Of those elements listed below,the binding energy per nucleon reaches a maximum nearest

A) oxygen.
B) iron.
C) gold.
D) tungsten.
E) uranium.

Question 35

What is the binding energy of ¹²C? The mass of an atom of ¹²C is 12 u (exactly),of an atom of ¹H is 1.007825 u,and of a neutron is 1.0086649 u.

A) 137 MeV
B) 104 MeV
C) 92.2 MeV
D) 46.1 MeV
E) 7.68 MeV

Question 36

Which of the following is not a number that corresponds to the filling of a nuclear shell?

A) 8
B) 18
C) 50
D) 82
E) 126

Question 37

About what is the binding energy released in the fissioning of ²³⁶U?

A) 2.20 MeV
B) 50.0 MeV
C) 100 MeV
D) 200 MeV
E) 900 MeV

Question 38

Which of the following nuclei is not "doubly magic"?

A) ¹⁶O
B) ⁴⁰Ca
C) ⁴⁸Ca
D) ¹²²Sn
E) ²⁰⁸Pb

Question 39

²²⁶₈₈Ra decays by alpha decay.What are A and Z for the daughter nuclide?

A) 226, 92
B) 222, 92
C) 226, 88
D) 222, 88
E) 222, 86

Question 40

The gravitational force,the electromagnetic force,and the strong nuclear force are ______ range,_______ range,and _______ range,respectively.

A) short,long,long
B) short,short,long
C) short,short,short
D) long,short,short
E) long,long,short

Question 41

In radiation dosage,the factor that accounts for the measure of biological damage caused by different kinds of radiation is the

A) gray.
B) rad.
C) curie.
D) quality factor.
E) activity.

Question 42

If a 60 kg person absorbed a dose of 1.7 rem of radiation with a quality factor of 1.1,what was the total energy absorbed in joules?

A) 1.7
B) 1.5
C) 0.93
D) 0.015
E) 0.26

Question 43

The quantum-mechanical process by which an alpha particle makes it through the potential barrier holding it in the nucleus is called

A) leaping.
B) tunneling.
C) transmitting.
D) fissioning.
E) transporting.

Question 44

The half-life of ³⁰P is 2.50 minutes.If a sample of ³⁰P has 1.60 $\times$ 10¹⁰ nuclei present initially,after 10.0 minutes how many remain?

A) 0.800 $\times$ 10¹⁰
B) 0.400 $\times$ 10¹⁰
C) 0.200 $\times$ 10¹⁰
D) 0.100 $\times$ 10¹⁰
E) 0.050 $\times$ 10¹⁰

Question 45

When radioactive decays are counted,the resulting counts vary because of their statistical nature although the experimental situation may be the same.If 10⁶ counts are registered,the next measurement of an equivalent situation may be expected to typically vary by about how many counts?

A) 1
B) 100
C) 1000
D) 10,000
E) 100,000

Question 46

What is the mass of 25.0 mCi of ⁹⁹Tc^m which has a half-life of 6.00 h?

A) 4.74 ng
B) 50.7 pg
C) 1.05 ng
D) 3.29 ng
E) 25.0 mg

Question 47

The half-life of ³⁰P is 2.50 minutes.If a sample of ³⁰P has 1.60 $\times$ 10¹⁰ nuclei present,what is its activity?

A) 4.6 $\times$ 10⁷ Bq
B) 7.4 $\times$ 10⁷ Bq
C) 6.4 $\times$ 10⁹ Bq
D) 1.6 $\times$ 10¹⁰ Bq
E) 1.6 $\times$ 10⁹ Bq

Question 48

If a 70 kg person received a dose of 3.2 mGy of gamma rays of RBE = 0.80, what is the biologically equivalent dose in rem?

A) 0.012
B) 0.18
C) 0.0026
D) 0.26
E) 18

Question 49

The tokamak is a device designed to produce

A) tritium.
B) lithium hydride pellets.
C) the carbon cycle.
D) controlled fission.
E) controlled fusion.

Question 50

If a nuclide has a half-life of 100 s,what is the corresponding mean lifetime?

A) 100 s
B) 144 s
C) 69 s
D) 50 s
E) 75 s

Question 51

²⁶Al decays by beta-plus decay.What is the daughter nucleus?

A) ²⁷Al
B) ²⁵Al
C) ²⁶Mg
D) ²⁶Si
E) ²⁶Al

Question 52

It is common to illustrate the density of nuclear matter be discussing the mass of a teaspoon of nuclear material.What do nuclear densities imply for the mass of a teaspoon (5 cm³)of nuclear material? You may wish to use the relationship r = (1.2 fm)A^1/3 together with the mass of a proton,1.67 $\times$ 10^-27 kg,to estimate.

A) 3.8 $\times$ 10¹¹ kg
B) 9.6 $\times$ 10¹¹ kg
C) 1.53 $\times$ 10¹² kg
D) 1.15 $\times$ 10¹² kg

Question 53

The fusion reaction ²H + ³H $\rarr$ ⁴He + ¹n releases 17.6 MeV of energy.The mass of ²H is 2.01410 u,the mass of ⁴He is 4.00260 u,and the mass of ¹n is 1.00866 u.What is the mass of ³H?

A) 2.99716 u
B) 3.01605 u
C) 3.03494 u
D) 3.04221 u
E) 2.99982 u

Question 54

If the half-value layer for a particular energy gamma ray is 0.40 cm of lead.What fraction of a beam of these photons will penetrate 1.00 cm of lead?

A) 0.40
B) 0.18
C) 0.067
D) 0.60
E) 0.72

Question 55

Barium-137 emits a gamma ray from an excited state (¹³⁷Ba^* ).What is the resulting daughter nuclide?

A) ¹³⁷Cs
B) ¹³⁷Ba
C) ¹³⁷La
D) ¹³⁶Ba
E) ¹³⁶Cs

Question 56

In the fission reaction n + ²³⁵₉₂U $\rarr$ ¹⁴¹₅₆Ba + ? + 4n, what are the Z and A for the unknown fission product?

A) 37, 90
B) 35, 94
C) 36, 90
D) 37, 91
E) 36, 91

Question 57

¹⁴C has an activity of 0.25 Bq per gram of carbon for living organisms.The half-life of ¹⁴C is 5730 years.If a sample of charcoal from an archeological dig yields a ¹⁴C activity of 0.15 Bq per gram of carbon,how old is the material?

A) 6.6 $\times$ 10³ y
B) 5.1 $\times$ 10³ y
C) 4.2 $\times$ 10³ y
D) 1.7 $\times$ 10³ y
E) 1.4 $\times$ 10³ y

Question 58

A sample contains 1.000 $\times$ 10^-3 g of ⁴⁰K.The half-life of ⁴⁰K is 1.250 $\times$ 10⁹ years.What is the activity of the sample?

A) 3300 Bq
B) 1250 Bq
C) 382.0 Bq
D) 265.0 Bq
E) 3.000 Bq

Question 59

What is the ratio of radii of the nuclides ²³⁸₉₂U and ⁴⁰₂₀Ca

A) 1.66
B) 2.44
C) 5.95
D) 1.80

Question 60

If a nucleus has excited states above the ground state at 300 keV, 200 keV, and 80 keV, what gamma rays (in keV) may be expected from a collection of these excited nuclei? Choose the most complete set.

A) 300,200,80
B) 300,200,120,80
C) 100,120,80
D) 300,120,200,80,180
E) 300,220,200,120,100,80

Question 61

For a selected atom in a sample of a radioactively decaying isotope,the probability that it will decay during a time interval of a specified length is

A) dependent on how long ago t = 0 was set.
B) independent of when the time interval starts relative to the current time.
C) dependent upon how old the atom is.
D) fundamentally unpredictable.

Question 62

Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 years.You discover a single carbon-14 nucleus in your laboratory.What is the probability that it will decay in the next 24 hours?

A) 4.9 $\times$ 10^-7
B) 3.3 $\times$ 10^-7
C) 4.8 $\times$ 10^-7
D) It cannot be known unless the age of the nucleus is known.

Question 63

How many neutrons are produced in the induced fission reaction ¹₀n + ²³⁵₉₂Uà ⁸⁸₃₈Sr + ¹³⁶₅₄Xe + neutrons?

A) 2
B) 0
C) 1
D) 3

Question 64

Nuclear fuel enrichment is the process by which the concentration of what component of nuclear fuel is increased artificially:

A) Plutonium-239
B) Uranium-235
C) Deuterium
D) Uranium-238

Question 65

Compared to the sum of the masses of its constituents,the mass of a nucleus is

A) the same.
B) greater.
C) less.
D) greater,less or the same.

Question 66

A neutron star has approximately the density of nuclear material.If a typical neutron star has a radius of 8.0 km,what is its mass.You may wish to use the relationship r = (1.2 fm)A^1/3 together with the mass of a proton,1.67 $\times$ 10^-27 kg,to estimate.

A) 0.65 $\times$ 10³⁰ kg
B) 1.5 $\times$ 10³⁰ kg
C) 0.16 $\times$ 10³⁰ kg
D) 0.49 $\times$ 10³⁰ kg

Question 67

If each nuclear fission reaction in a nuclear power plant releases 173 MeV (1 MeV = 1.6 $\times$ 10^-13J),what quantity of Uranium-235 must be consumed each day to keep a 350MW plant producing at capacity? Assume the power plant is 35% efficient.

A) 5.2kg
B) 1.8kg
C) 0.43kg
D) 1.2kg

Question 68

Stellar cores,near the end of a star's lifetime,produce iron by fusion.The reason stellar cores don't go past iron is that

A) iron in stellar cores tends to spontaneously fission.
B) Iron is the most dense material in solid form
C) iron nuclei are the most tightly bound per nucleon.
D) iron is ferromagnetic.
E) iron is heavy.

Question 69

When a nucleus of a given isotope decays,it

A) cannot produce a daughter with the same mass number.
B) always produces a daughter with a lower mass number.
C) cannot produce a daughter with a lower mass number.
D) cannot produce a daughter with a higher mass number.
E) always produces a daughter with a higher mass number.

Question 70

The burning of one gallon of gasoline releases about 2 $\times$ 10⁸ J. If each nuclear fission reaction in a nuclear power plant releases 173 MeV (1 MeV = 1.6 $\times$ 10^-13J), what quantity of Uranium-235 is used to produce the same amount of energy relased in burning a gallon of gasoline?

A) 28g
B) 0.28g
C) 2.8g
D) 0.0028g

Question 71

Binding energy per nucleon in a nucleus is

A) the same for all nuclei.
B) the greatest for the largest nuclei.
C) the greatest for the smallest nuclei.
D) the greatest for medium-sized nuclei.

Question 72

Which of the following nuclear reactions is forbidden?

A) ⁷₃Li + ³₂He --> ¹₁p + 2 ⁴₂He
B) ⁴₂He + ³₁H --> ⁷₃Li
C) ⁷₃Li + ¹₁H --> 2 ⁴₂He
D) ¹₀n + ²³⁵₉₂U --> ¹³²₅₀Sn + ¹⁰¹₄₂Mo + 3¹₀n

Question 73

Fusion employs the lightest nuclei because

A) fusion produces a nucleus whose binding energy per nucleon is smaller than that of the two parent nuclei.
B) they are more plentifully available.
C) they are easier to completely ionize and thus cause their nuclei to coalesce.
D) fusion produces a nucleus whose binding energy per nucleon is larger than that of the two parent nuclei.

Question 74

What is the radius of the nuclide ²³⁸₉₂U?

A) 7.4 fm
B) 5.4 fm
C) 290 fm
D) 1.8 fm

Question 75

Complete the following induced reaction ⁷₃Li + ¹₁H $\rightarrow$ ⁴₂He + ?

A) ⁴₂He
B) ³₁H
C) ⁸₄B
D) ⁶₃Li

Question 76

A neutron star has approximately the density of nuclear material.If a neutron star is the mass of the sun,1.99 $\times$ 10³⁰ kg,what would be its radius? You may wish to use the relationship r = (1.2 fm)A^1/3 together with the mass of a proton,1.67 $\times$ 10^-27 kg,to estimate.

A) 12 km
B) 19 km
C) 13 km
D) 9.8 km

Question 77

For a sample of a given radioactive isotope,the ratio of the number of atoms of the isotope that exist at a time t to the number that exist at time t + t_1/2 is

A) always 2.
B) dependent on how long t is after t = 0.
C) Dependent upon what the value of t_1/2 is
D) always 1/2.
E) might be any number less than 1/2

Question 78

A nuclear chain reaction is possible because,for the isotopes that can participate in a chain reaction,each nucleus when fissioned

A) produces more neutrons than are required to fission one nucleus.
B) produces more energy than is required to fission one nucleus.
C) produces daughters that can also be fissioned to produce more energy.
D) produces daughters that can fuse together to make more of the same isotope.