Free Printable Nuclear Physics Review

1.

The box for an element from the periodic table is shown. Which is the atomic mass?

a)

A

b)

B

c)

C

d)

D

2.

a)

1 and 2

b)

3 and 4

c)

1 and 4

d)

2 and 3

3.

Which of the following is not a term used in describing nuclear power plants?

a)

Fission

b)

Steam

c)

Fusion

d)

Turbine

4.

Which of the following lists the three types of nuclear radiation in order from least to most dangerous?

a)

X ray, gamma, beta

b)

X ray, beta, gamma

c)

alpha, beta, gamma

d)

alpha, gamma, beta

5.

Which symbol is used to represent the release of an alpha particle?

a)

$\frac{2}{1}He$

b)

$\frac{2}{2}He$

c)

$\frac{4}{1}He$

d)

$\frac{4}{2}He$

6.

An atom of sodium has an atomic number of 11 and a mass number of 23. Which of the following is correct?

a)

a

b)

b

c)

c

d)

d

7.

What happens to the amount of the parent isotope as time increases?

a)

the amount of parent isotope increases

b)

the amount of parent isotope stays the same

c)

the amount of parent isotope decreases

d)

cannot tell from the information given

8.

What happens to the amount of the daughter isotope as time increases?

a)

the amount of daughter isotope increases

b)

the amount of daughter isotope stays the same

c)

the amount of daughter isotope decreases

d)

cannot tell from the information given

9.

Each element with an atomic number greater than 83 is ____.

a)

radioactive

b)

stable

c)

gaseous

d)

material

10.

Which of the following explains the difference between isotopes of carbon?

a)

number of protons in the nucleus

b)

number of neutrons in the nucleus

c)

number of electrons in the nucleus

d)

number of electron shells/orbitals

11.

Who is credited with discovering radioactivity?

a)

Marie Curie

b)

Sir Isaac Newton

c)

Nikola Tesla

d)

Thomas Edison

12.

Which of the following correctly describes a difference between alpha, beta, and gamma decay?

a)

Alpha decay only changes the mass of the element

b)

Beta decay releases a helium nucleus from the isotope

c)

Gamma decay does not change the element’s atomic number or mass

d)

Alpha and gamma change the number of protons in an atom, beta decay does not

13.

Which of the following is a site of a major nuclear disaster?

a)

Parris Island

b)

Chernobyl

c)

New York

d)

China

14.

Which of the following is a TRUE statement?

a)

The half-life of carbon changes when an organism dies

b)

The half-life of an isotope gets longer if the element is taken to another location with a different amount of gravity

c)

The half-life of an isotope does not change when the environment changes

d)

The half-life of an isotope is smaller when there is less parent material at the beginning of the radioactive decay

15.

Process used in most nuclear power plants; provides approximately 20% of the electricity generation in the US

a)

Fusion

b)

Fission

c)

Ion

d)

Spojo

16.

Fission

a)

Requires very high temperatures and pressures to start

b)

Usually occurs with small elements

c)

Takes place in the sun and stars

d)

All of the above

17.

Which element is the parent isotope?

a)

Uranium (U)

b)

Lead (Pb)

c)

There is no way to tell from this graph

18.

Based on the information in the graph, what is the half-life of the parent isotope?

a)

1000 million years

b)

6000 million years

c)

4500 million years

d)

There is no way to tell from the graph

19.

After 4 half-lives, how many grams of the starting 100 g of parent isotope remains?

a)

93.75 g

b)

6.25 g

c)

25 g

d)

75 g

20.

Thorium-234 has a half-life of 24 days. If you started with a 100-gram sample of thorium-234, how much would remain after 48 days?

a)

100 grams

b)

50 grams

c)

25 grams

d)

10 grams

21.

The half-life of cadmium-109 is 464 days. A scientist measures out a 256.0 gram (g) sample. Approximately how many grams of cadmium-109 would remain after 1,392 days?

a)

32.0 g

b)

64.0 g

c)

2,048.0 g

d)

1,024.0 g

22.

Given the nuclear reaction: $\frac{14}{6}C\ \rightarrow\frac{14}{7}N\ \ +$ ______, what type of particle is emitted?

a)

$\frac{4}{2}He$

b)

$\frac{0}{-1}e$

c)

$\frac{0}{0}\gamma$

23.

Given the nuclear reaction: $\frac{218}{84}Po\ \rightarrow\frac{4}{2}He\ \ +$ ______, what isotope is formed?

a)

$\frac{218}{82}Pb$

b)

$\frac{214}{84}Po$

c)

$\frac{214}{82}Pb$

d)

$\frac{218}{84}Po$

24.

Given the nuclear reaction: $\frac{9}{4}Be\ \rightarrow\frac{9}{4}Be\ \ +$ ______, what type of particle is emitted?

a)

$\frac{4}{2}He$

b)

$\frac{0}{-1}e$

c)

$\frac{0}{0}\gamma$

25.

How much daughter isotope will be in a sample that has gone through one half-life?

a)

The same amount as the parent isotope

b)

Half of the amount of the parent isotope

c)

Twice the amount of the parent isotope

d)

There is no way to tell without more information

26.

Mercury-197 is used for kidney scans and has a half-life of 3 days. If 32 grams is ordered but it takes 15 days to arrive, how many grams of Mercury-197 would arrive in the shipment?

a)

2.1 grams

b)

5 grams

c)

66 grams

d)

1 gram

27.

How long ago would a fossilized tree have died if it has 3.125% of its original carbon-14 remaining?

a)

11,460 years ago

b)

17,190 years ago

c)

28,650 years ago

d)

The sample would be too small to accurately calculate half-life from

28.

$\frac{226}{88}Ra\$ undergoes alpha decay. What would be the products of this reaction?

a)

$\frac{4}{2}He\ and\ \frac{230}{90}Th$

b)

$\frac{4}{2}He\ and\ \frac{222}{86}Rn$

c)

$\frac{0}{-1}e\ and\ \frac{226}{89}Ac$

d)

$\frac{0}{-1}e\ and\ \frac{226}{87}Fr$

29.

The smallest particle of matter that still retains the properties of the element.

a)

half-life

b)

fission

c)

fusion

d)

atom

30.

The process in which two nuclei come together to form one new nucleus.

a)

half-life

b)

fission

c)

fusion

d)

atom

31.

The process in which a nucleus splits into two smaller nuclei.

a)

half-life

b)

fission

c)

fusion

d)

atom

32.

The time it takes for half of a radioactive nuclei to decay.

a)

half-life

b)

fission

c)

fusion

d)

atom

33.

Releases a helium nucleus

a)

Alpha decay

b)

Beta decay

c)

Gamma decay

34.

Releases an electron

a)

Alpha decay

b)

Beta decay

c)

Gamma decay

35.

Energy only

a)

Alpha decay

b)

Beta decay

c)

Gamma decay

36.

Which equation comes from German-born physicist Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity that expresses the fact that mass and energy are the same physical entity and can be changed into each other?

a)

E = mc^2

b)

F = m*a

c)

V = I x R

37.

How many protons?

a)

6

b)

14

c)

20

d)

8

38.

How many neutrons?

a)

6

b)

14

c)

20

d)

8

39.

Decay

a)

Particles die and go away forever

b)

One element changes into another

c)

New matter is created

Nuclear Physics Review

Total questions: 39

Worksheet time: 20mins

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