Deck 21: Nuclear Chemistry

Question 1

What is the missing product from this reaction? P → S + _____

A) He
B) e
C) γ
D) e
E) p

Answer 1

e

Question 2

What happens to the mass number and the atomic number of an element when it undergoes beta decay?

A)Neither the mass number nor the atomic number change.
B)The mass number decreases by 4 and the atomic number decreases by 2.
C)The mass number does not change and the atomic number increases by 1.
D)The mass number does not change and the atomic number decreases by 2.
E)The mass number increases by 2 and the atomic number increases by 1.

Answer 2

The mass number does not change and the atomic number increases by 1.

Question 3

Carbon-11 decays by __________.

A)alpha emission
B)beta emission
C)positron emission
D)electron capture
E)neutron capture

Answer 3

positron emission

Question 4

At approximately what number of protons, or neutrons, does the 1:1 ratio of protons to neutrons start to produce unstable nuclei?

A)10
B)20
C)30
D)50
E)80

Question 5

Which one of the following is a correct representation of a positron?

A) e
B) β
C) e
D) e
E) β

Question 6

Of the following processes, which one changes the atomic number?

A)alpha emission
B)beta emission
C)electron capture
D)positron emission
E)All of these processes change the atomic numbers.

Question 7

Atoms containing radioactive nuclei are called __________.

A)radionuclides
B)radioisotopes
C)nucleons
D)nuclides
E)radioisophores

Question 8

The formation of krypton from rubidium decay is a result of __________.

A)alpha emission
B)beta emission
C)positron emission
D)electron capture
E)neutron capture

Question 9

Which one of the following is a correct representation of a beta particle?

A) e
B) β
C) e
D) e
E) β

Question 10

All atoms of a given element have the same __________.

A)mass number
B)number of nucleons
C)atomic mass
D)number of neutrons
E)atomic number

Question 11

In what type of radioactive decay does the atomic number of the product increase by one?

A)alpha
B)beta
C)gamma
D)positron emission
E)electron capture

Question 12

Atoms with the same atomic number and different mass numbers

A)do not exist.
B)are isomers.
C)are isotopes.
D)are allotropes
E)are resonance structures.

Question 13

Alpha decay produces a new nucleus whose __________ than those respectively of the original nucleus.

A)atomic number is 2 less and mass number is 2 less
B)atomic number is 1 less and mass number is 2 less
C)atomic number is 2 less and mass number is 4 less
D)atomic number is 2 more and mass number is 4 more
E)atomic number is 2 more and mass number is 2 less

Question 14

What happens to the mass number and the atomic number of an element when it emits gamma radiation?

A)The mass number remains unchanged while the atomic number decreases by one.
B)The mass number decreases by four and the atomic number decreases by two.
C)The mass number increases by four and the atomic number increases by two.
D)The mass number remains unchanged while the atomic number increases by one.
E)The mass number and atomic numbers remain unchanged.

Question 15

Which one of the following is a correct representation of an alpha particle?

A) He
B) H
C) H
D) e
E) H

Question 16

Which one of the following processes results in an increase in the atomic number?

A)gamma emission
B)positron emission
C)beta emission
D)alpha emission
E)corrosion

Question 17

What radioactive element is used to diagnose medical conditions of the heart and arteries?

A)cobalt-60
B)thallium-201
C)radium-226
D)radon-222
E)thorium-234

Question 18

What is the atomic number of a neutron?

A)3
B)1
C)2
D)0
E)4

Question 19

Which type of radioactive decay results in no change in mass number and atomic number for the starting nucleus?

A)alpha
B)beta
C)positron emission
D)electron capture
E)gamma

Question 20

How many radioactive decay series exist in nature?

A)0
B)1
C)2
D)3
E)10

Question 21

The mode of decay of 32P is __________.

A)alpha emission
B)beta emission
C)positron emission
D)electron capture
E)neutron capture

Question 22

Which one of the following requires a particle accelerator to occur?

A) Fe → Co + e
B) Co + n → Co
C) U + n → Np + e
D) Pu + He → Cm + n
E)none of the above

Question 23

Transuranium elements have atomic numbers greater than __________.

A)90
B)91
C)92
D)93
E)94

Question 24

The half-life of ²¹⁸Po is 3.1 minutes. How much of a 155 gram sample remains after 0.40 hours?

A)0.00067 g
B)0.0072 g
C)0.72 g
D)0.0047 g
E)none of the above

Question 25

The beta decay of cesium-137 has a half-life of 30.0 years. How many years must pass to reduce a 25 mg sample of cesium 137 to 8.7 mg?

A)46
B)32
C)3.2
D)50
E)52

Question 26

The belt of nuclear stability ends with the element __________.

A)lead
B)polonium
C)radon
D)astatine
E)bismuth

Question 27

The product of the nuclear reaction in which ²⁸Si is subjected to neutron capture followed by alpha emission is __________.

A)"³¹S"
B)"³³S"
C)"²³Mg"
D)"²⁵Mg"
E)"²⁵Al"

Question 28

Which of these nuclides is most likely to be radioactive?

A) K
B) Al
C) I
D) Am
E) Bi

Question 29

In the nuclear transmutation represented by N( n, p)?, what is the product?

A)carbon-12
B)carbon-16
C)carbon-14
D)nitrogen-16
E)nitrogen-15

Question 30

Which one of the following can be done to shorten the half-life of the radioactive decay of uranium-238?

A)freeze it
B)heat it
C)convert it to UF₆
D)oxidize it to the +2 oxidation state
E)none of the above

Question 31

In the nuclear transmutation represented by Pu( He, n)?, what is the product?

A)uranium-242
B)curium-245
C)curium-242
D)uranium-245
E)uranium-243

Question 32

Cesium-131 has a half-life of 9.7 days. What percent of a cesium-131 sample remains after 60 days?

A)100
B)0
C)1.4
D)98.6
E)more information is needed to solve the problem

Question 33

In the nuclear transmutation represented by N( n, p)?, what is the emitted particle?

A)neutron
B)proton
C)positron
D)alpha particle
E)electron

Question 34

What is emitted in the nuclear transmutation, Al(n, ?) Na?

A)an alpha particle
B)a beta particle
C)a neutron
D)a proton
E)a gamma photon

Question 35

Which of the following correctly represents the transmutation in which a curium-242 nucleus is bombarded with an alpha particle to produce a californium-245 nucleus?

A) Cm( He, n) Cf
B) Cm( He, p) Cf
C) Cm( He, e) Cf
D) Cm( n, He) Cf
E) Cm( He, 2 p) Cf

Question 36

Bombardment of uranium-238 with a deuteron (hydrogen-2)generates neptunium-237 and __________ neutrons.

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

Question 37

Cobalt-60 is produced by a three reaction process involving neutron capture, beta-emission, and neutron capture. The initial reactant in the production of cobalt-60 is __________.

A)"⁵⁹Co"
B)"⁵⁶Fe"
C)"⁵⁸Fe"
D)"⁶¹Co"
E)"⁶⁰Fe"

Question 38

Which of the following correctly represents the transmutation in which neptunium-239 is produced via bombardment of uranium-238 with a neutron?

A) U( n, e) Np
B) U( n, p) Np
C) U( n, γ) Np
D) U( n, α) Np
E) U( n, n) Np

Question 39

What is required for a nuclear transmutation to occur?

A)very high temperature
B)a corrosive environment
C)a particle to collide with a nucleus
D)spontaneous nuclear decay
E)gamma emission

Question 40

In the nuclear transmutation, O (p, α) N, what is the bombarding particle?

A)an alpha particle
B)a beta particle
C)a gamma photon
D)a proton
E)a phosphorus nucleus

Question 41

Which one of the following is true?

A)Some spontaneous nuclear reactions are exothermic.
B)Some spontaneous nuclear reactions are endothermic.
C)All spontaneous nuclear reactions are exothermic.
D)There is no relationship between exothermicity and spontaneity in nuclear reactions.
E)All spontaneous nuclear reactions are endothermic.

Question 42

Which one of the following is used as a radiotracer to study blood?

A)iron-59
B)technetium-99
C)sodium-23
D)iodine-131
E)phosphorus-32

Question 43

What is the rate constant (in min^-1)for the decay of this radionuclide?

A)45
B)32
C)0.024
D)0.032
E)0.022

Question 44

The mass of a proton is 1.00728 amu and that of a neutron is 1.00867 amu. What is the binding energy (in J)of a Co nucleus? (The mass of a cobalt-60 nucleus is 59.9338 amu.)

A)2.74 × 10^-19
B)9.12 × 10^-28
C)4.94 × 10^-13
D)8.20 × 10^-11
E)2.74 × 10^-16

Question 45

Which one of the following devices converts radioactive emissions to light for detection?

A)Geiger counter
B)photographic film
C)scintillation counter
D)none of the above
E)radiotracer

Question 46

Cesium-137 undergoes beta decay and has a half-life of 30.0 years. How many beta particles are emitted by a 14.0-g sample of cesium-137 in three minutes?

A)6.1 × 10¹³
B)6.2 × 10²²
C)8.4 × 10¹⁵
D)1.3 × 10^-8
E)8.1 × 10¹⁵

Question 47

The half-life of ¹³¹I is 0.220 years. How much of a 500.0 mg sample remains after 24 hours?

A)496 mg
B)560 mg
C)219 mg
D)405 mg
E)337 mg

Question 48

The half-life of a radionuclide

A)is constant.
B)gets shorter with passing time.
C)gets longer with passing time.
D)gets shorter with increased temperature.
E)gets longer with increased temperature.

Question 49

The mass of a proton is 1.673 × 10^-24 g. The mass of a neutron is 1.675 × 10^-24 g. The mass of the nucleus of an ⁵⁶Fe atom is 9.289 × 10^-23 g. What is the nuclear binding energy (in J)for a ⁵⁶Fe nucleus? (c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s)

A)2.57 × 10^-16
B)7.72 × 10^-8
C)8.36 × 10^-9
D)7.65 × 10^-11
E)6.07 × 10⁶

Question 50

What is the half-life (in min)of this radionuclide?

A)0.024
B)0.022
C)32
D)0.032
E)45

Question 51

The half-life of carbon-11 is 20.3 minutes. How much of a 100.0 mg sample remains after 1.50 hours?

A)8.48 mg
B)4.63 mg
C)12.9 mg
D)22.6 mg
E)7.70 mg

Question 52

The half-life of ²²³Ra is 11.4 days. How much of a 200.0 mg sample remains after 600 hours?

A)0.219 mg
B)21.9 mg
C).0302 mg
D)43.8 mg
E)6.04 mg

Question 53

The carbon-14 dating method can be used to determine the age of a

A)flint arrowhead.
B)papyrus scroll.
C)stone axe head.
D)clay pot.
E)rock.

Question 54

The curie is a measure of the

A)number of disintegrations per second of a radioactive substance.
B)total energy absorbed by an object exposed to a radioactive source.
C)lethal threshold for radiation exposure.
D)number of alpha particles emitted by exactly one gram of a radioactive substance.
E)None of the above is correct.

Question 55

The half-life for beta decay of strontium-90 is 28.8 years. A milk sample is found to contain 10.3 ppm strontium-90. How many years would pass before the strontium-90 concentration would drop to 1.0 ppm?

A)92.3
B)0.112
C)186
D)96.9
E)131

Question 56

When two atoms of ²H are fused to form one atom of ⁴He, the total energy evolved is 3.83 × 10^-12 J. What is the total change in mass (in kg)for this reaction? (C = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s)

A)1.28 × 10^-17
B)4.26 × 10^-26
C)3.45 × 10⁸
D)1.15
E)4.26 × 10^-29

Question 57

²¹⁰Pb has a half-life of 22.3 years and decays to produce ²⁰⁶Hg . If you start with 7.50 g of ²¹⁰Pb, how many grams of ²⁰⁶Hg will you have after 17.5 years?

A)4.35
B)3.15
C)3.09
D)0.0600
E)1.71

Question 58

The half-life of ²²²Rn is 3.80 days. If a sample contains 36.0 g of Rn-222, how many years will it take for the sample to be reduced to 1.00 mg of Rn-222?

A)19.7
B)0.1597
C)8.53
D)0.0234
E)none of the above

Question 59

The basis for the carbon-14 dating method is that

A)the amount of carbon-14 in all objects is the same.
B)carbon-14 is very unstable and is readily lost from the atmosphere.
C)the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in the atmosphere is a constant.
D)living tissue will not absorb carbon-14 but will absorb carbon-12.
E)All of the above are correct.

Question 60

What is a phosphor?

A)an oxide of phosphorus
B)a substance that thermally reduces to phosphorus
C)a bioluminescent substance
D)a substance that emits light when excited by radiation
E)an alkali metal phosphide

Question 61

The missing product from this reaction is __________. Fr → N + _____

A) He
B) e
C) n
D) e
E) γ

Question 62

In balancing the nuclear reaction C → E + e, the identity of element E is __________.

A)B
B)N
C)C
D)O
E)none of the above

Question 63

What type of reaction is known as a thermonuclear reaction?

A)fission
B)fusion
C)transmutation
D)beta emission
E)neutron emission

Question 64

This reaction is an example of __________. Po → Pb + _____

A)alpha decay
B)beta emission
C)gamma emission
D)positron emission
E)electron capture

Question 65

What percentage of electricity generated in the U.S. is from commercial nuclear plants?

A)1%
B)10%
C)19%
D)50%
E)90%

Question 66

The mass of a proton is 1.00728 amu and that of a neutron is 1.00867 amu. What is the binding energy per nucleon (in J)of a Co nucleus? (The mass of a cobalt-60 nucleus is 59.9338 amu.)

A)1.37 × 10^-12
B)3.04 × 10^-12
C)2.49 × 10^-12
D)9.43 × 10^-13
E)7.01 × 10^-14

Question 67

The missing product from this reaction is __________. I → Te + _____

A) He
B) e
C) n
D) e
E) γ

Question 68

The alpha decay of what isotope of what element produces lead-206?

Question 69

Which one of the following forms of radiation can penetrate the deepest into body tissue?

A)alpha
B)beta
C)gamma
D)positron
E)proton

Question 70

Which one of the following is not true concerning radon?

A)It decays by alpha emission.
B)It decays to polonium-218, an alpha emitter.
C)It is chemically active in human lungs.
D)It has been implicated in lung cancer.
E)It is generated as uranium decays.

Question 71

The main scientific difficulty in achieving a controlled fusion process is the

A)enormous repulsion between nuclei being fused.
B)enormous repulsion between the electrons of atoms being fused.
C)very large number of positrons emitted.
D)very large number of x-rays emitted.
E)very large number of gamma rays emitted.

Question 72

The missing product from this reaction is __________. Cl + _____ → Ar + e

A) He
B) e
C) n
D) e
E) γ

Question 73

In terms of binding energy per nucleon, what element divides fission and fusion processes?

A)H
B)He
C)C
D)Fe
E)U

Question 74

In balancing the nuclear reaction U → E + He, the identity of element E is __________.

A)Pu
B)Np
C)U
D)Pa
E)Th

Question 75

The mass of a proton is 1.00728 amu and that of a neutron is 1.00867 amu. What is the mass defect (in amu)of a Ni nucleus? (The mass of a nickel-60 nucleus is 59.9308 amu.)

A)0.5449
B)1.2374
C)0.5491
D)28.7930
E)1.3066

Question 76

The missing product from this reaction is __________. B + _____ → N + n

A) He
B) e
C) n
D) e
E) γ

Question 77

What exposure level to radiation is fatal to most humans?

A)100 rem
B)200 rem
C)600 rem
D)300 rem
E)1000 rem

Question 78

By what process does thorium-230 decay to radium-226?

A)gamma emission
B)alpha emission
C)beta emission
D)electron capture
E)positron emission

Question 79

In balancing the nuclear reaction Br → E + e, the identity of element E is __________.

A)Kr
B)Br
C)U
D)Se
E)none of the above

Question 80

The missing product from this reaction is __________. Al + n → Si + _____

A) He
B) e
C) n
D) e
E) γ