Nuclear Physics Review

Nuclear Physics Review

By Krista Gates

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the Blanks

Multiple Select

Which of these are nucleons?

(you may select more than 1 answer)

• proton

• electron

• neutron

• photon

Multiple Choice

What kind of reaction is shown here?

• Nuclear Reaction

• Chemical Reaction

Multiple Choice

What kind of reaction is shown here?

• Nuclear Reaction

• Chemical Reaction

Chemical vs Nuclear Reactions

​Chemical Reactions: Atoms rearrange into different molecules based on electrons

​

Nuclear Reactions: Nucleus of an atom changes - often transforming the atom into a different element (transmutation)​

Multiple Choice

Which type of decay gives off a helium nucleus?

• $$\alpha$$  

• $$\beta^+$$  

• $$\beta^-$$  

• $$\gamma$$  

Multiple Choice

Which type of decay gives off an electron?

• $$\alpha$$  

• $$\beta^+$$  

• $$\beta^-$$  

• $$\gamma$$  

Multiple Choice

Which type of decay is this?

• $$\alpha$$  

• $$\beta^+$$  

• $$\beta^-$$  

• $$\gamma$$  

Types of Decay:​

α​: He-4 breaks off of nucleus

​

β​^- : weak force turns a neutron into a proton - emits an electron

​

β+ : weak force turns a proton into a neutron- emits an positron

​

γ​: excited nucleus gives off photon (light). No transmutation

Multiple Choice

Which type of radiation can be blocked by a sheet of paper?

• $$\alpha$$  

• $$\beta^+$$  

• $$\beta^-$$  

• $$\gamma$$  

Multiple Choice

Which type of radiation has the greatest penetrating power?

• $$\alpha$$  

• $$\beta^+$$  

• $$\beta^-$$  

• $$\gamma$$  

Multiple Choice

The graph shows the amount of a radioactive sample vs time.

What is the half-life of the element shown?

• 100 moles

• 50 moles

• 20 ms

• 10 ms

• 5 ms

Multiple Choice

Nitrogen-13 has a half-life of 10 minutes.

If you start with 80 g of N-13, how much will you have after 30 minutes?

• 10 g

• 20 g

• 40 g

• 50g

• 80 g

Half-Life

On average, half of a radioactive element decays in equal intervals of time. We call this time the element's half-life​

this half-life is 2 seconds

​time (s)	​2	​4	​6	​8
amount (mol)​	​12	​6	​3	​1.5

Multiple Choice

The graph shows the mass defect per nucleon vs mass number for various elements. The very peak of this graph is Iron-56.

What does it mean that Iron is at the peak?

• Iron-56 is the largest element

• Iron-56 is the most stable element

• Iron-56 will never undergo fusion

Multiple Choice

Which arrow represents fusion that gives off energy

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

Which arrow represents fission that gives off energy

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

Which arrow represents fission that requires energy

• A

• B

• C

• D

E = m c²

In all sustained nuclear reactions, some mass becomes energy

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mass defect