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WorksheetsNuclear Physics
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 4hrs 45mins
Which two elements are fissible?
U-235 and Pu-244
U-238 and Pu-239
U-235 and Pu-239
U-238 and Pu-244
What is a.m.u. expressed in MeV?
930.4
931.6
932.5
931.5
Which of the following substances can be used as a moderator in a nuclear reactor?
Boron
Concrete
Uranium-238
Water
The Rutherford scattering experiment led to
the discovery of the electron.
the quark model of hadrons.
the discovery of the nucleus.
evidence for wave-particle duality.
A pure sample of nuclide X containing N nuclei has an activity A. The half-life of X is 6000 years. A pure sample of nuclide Y containing 3N nuclei has an activity 6A. What is the half-life of nuclide Y?
1000 years
3000 years
12 000 years
18 000 years
In the Rutherford scattering experiment most α particles passed through the foil undeflected. What is a correct deduction from this result?
Most of the mass of an atom is within the nucleus.
The diameter of the nucleus is much less than the diameter of the atom.
The nucleus has a positive charge.
The charge of the atom is neutral.
β particles are emitted from a radioactive source in a school laboratory. What is correct for these particles?
A strong magnetic field will not deflect them.
They are absorbed by aluminium.
They do not damage human tissue.
Their range in air is shorter than that of α particles.
A radioactive source contains a nuclide which has a half-life of 12 hours. A detector placed near the source records an average count rate of 180 counts per minute. The average background count rate is 20 counts per minute. What will be the average count rate after 24 hours?
40 counts per minute
45 counts per minute
50 counts per minute
60 counts per minute
The power output of a nuclear reactor is provided by nuclear fuel which decreases in mass at a rate of 4.0 × 10^-6 kg per hour. What is the maximum possible power output of the reactor?
28 kW
50 MW
100 MW
200 MW
The moderator of some nuclear reactors is made from graphite. What is the principal purpose of the graphite?
to absorb all the heat produced
to decrease the speed of neutrons
to absorb α and β radiation
to prevent the reactor from going critical
Which of the following best describes the decay constant for a radioisotope?
The reciprocal of the half-life of the radioisotope.
The rate of decay of the radioisotope.
The constant of proportionality which links half-life to the rate of decay of nuclei.
The constant of proportionality which links rate of decay to the number of undecayed nuclei.
After 64 days the activity of a radioactive nuclide has fallen to one sixteenth of its original value. The half-life of the radioactive nuclide is
2 days.
4 days.
8 days.
16 days.
For a nuclear reactor in which the fission rate is constant, which one of the following statements is correct?
There is a critical mass of fuel in the reactor.
For every fission event, there is, on average, one further fission event.
A single neutron is released in every fission event.
No neutrons escape from the reactor.
Artificial radioactive nuclides are manufactured by placing naturally-occurring nuclides in a nuclear reactor. They are made radioactive in the reactor as a consequence of bombardment by
α particles.
β particles
protons
neutrons
Nuclear binding energy is
the energy required to overcome the electrostatic force between the protons in the nucleus
energy equivalent of the mass of the protons in the nucleus
the energy equivalent of the mass of all the nucleons in the nucleus
the energy equivalent of the difference between the total mass of the individual nucleons and their mass when they are contained in the nucleus
