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Radioactivity quiz

Total questions: 83

Worksheet time: 2hrs 58mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What is a beta particle made of?

a)

One proton

b)

A helium particle

c)

One electron

d)

One proton and one neutron

2.

Which of these processes describes a nuclear fusion reaction?

a)

A nucleus absorbs energy to produce lighter nuclei.

b)

A nucleus splits to produce energy and lighter nuclei

c)

Two nuclei bind together to produce energy and heavier nuclei.

d)

Two nuclei bind together to produce energy and a lighter nuclei.

3.

Of the main types of radiation emitted from naturally radioactive isotopes, which is the hardest to block?

a)

Alpha deca

b)

Gamma Decay

c)

Beta decay

d)

They are all blocked using the same method

4.
What is emitted during Beta Radiation?
a)
A high-energy Electron.
b)
Protons.
c)
Neutrons.
d)
Nuclei
5.
TRUE or FALSE: gamma changes the atomic number.
a)
True
b)
False
6.
What is emitted during Alpha Radiation?
a)
A helium nuclei.
b)
A helium atom
c)
Gamma Rays.
d)
Positrons
7.
What is radioactive decay?
a)
The spontaneous breakdown of an atomic nucleus resulting in only energy release
b)
The spontaneous breakdown of an atomic nucleus resulting in only matter release
c)
The spontaneous breakdown of an atomic nucleus resulting in a release of energy and matter
d)
The decay of the use of radios and the increased use of televisions.
8.
Which type of nuclear radiation is being emitted here?
a)
Alpha
b)
beta
c)
gamma 
d)
none
9.
When does radioactive decay occur?
a)
When the nucleus of an isotope is unstable
b)
When the nucleus of an isotope is stable
c)
When the electrons of an isotope are spinning
d)
When the electrons of an isotope are shared with another isotope
10.
Isotopes of the same element have different ____________. 
a)
 numbers of protons  
b)
numbers of electrons
c)
 symbols 
d)
numbers of neutrons
11.
This is an example of...
a)
Fission  reaction
b)
Fusion reaction
c)
Decomposition reaction
d)
Decay
12.
Complete the nuclear equation and determine the type of decay that is occurring in this reaction. 
a)
alpha
b)
beta
c)
gamma
d)
none
13.
How many protons does gold atom have?
a)
197
b)
79
c)
118
d)
276
14.
What is the mass of an alpha particle?
a)
1
b)
2
c)
3
d)
4
15.
What is the definition of an isotope?
a)
An atom with different electron number to proton number
b)
An atom with different proton number from neutron number
c)
An atom with different number of protons from the periodic table
d)
An atom with a different number of neutrons from the periodic table
16.

Neutrons ......

a)

has positive electric charge with equal magnitude to that of an electron.

b)

has no net electric charge.

c)

has negative electric charge.

d)

orbiting the nucleus.

17.

What kind of force holds the nucleus together?

a)

Strong Nuclear Force

b)

Weak Nuclear Force

c)

Gravitational Force

d)

Electromagnetic Force

18.

What is the number of neutrons in Cesium?

a)

55 neutrons

b)

76 neutrons

c)

84 neutrons

d)

106 neutrons

e)

139 neutrons

19.

The atomic number of a given element is

equivalent to which of the following?

a)

Proton number in the nucleus

b)

Neutron number in the nucleus

c)

Sum of the protons and neutrons in the

nucleus

d)

Sum of the protons, neutrons and electrons

20.

If there are 146 neutrons in 238U, how many neutrons

are found in the nucleus of 235U?

a)

141

b)

143

c)

145

d)

147

21.
What is the structure of an alpha particle?
a)
An electron
b)
A neutron
c)
Two protons and two neutrons. This is the same as a helium nucleus.
d)
An electromagnetic wave
22.
Which type of radiation is the least penetrating?
a)
Alpha
b)
Beta
c)
X-ray
d)
Gamma
23.

Which type of radiation travels the furthest in air?

a)

Alpha

b)

Beta

c)

Sound

d)

Gamma

24.
What charge is an alpha particle?
a)
It's a wave, it has no charge
b)
Neutral (no charge)
c)
Positively charged.
d)
Negatively charged.
25.
What device detects radiation?
a)
A Muller-Corner tube.
b)
A Geiger-Muller tube.
c)
A U-tube.
d)
A Rutherford tube.
26.
What material can be used to absorb alpha radiation?
a)
Thin aluminium (a few mm thick)
b)
Thick lead or concrete
c)
A piece of wood
d)
A sheet of paper
27.
What is the range of alpha radiation in air?
a)
A few centimetres (up to 5 cm)
b)
About 1 metre
c)
100 metres
d)
More than 1km (almost infinite)
28.
What material can be used to absorb beta radiation?
a)
Thick lead or concrete
b)
Thin aluminium (a few mm thick)
c)
A sheet of paper
d)
A piece of wood
29.

What is the range of beta radiation in air

a)

A few centimetres (up to 5 cm)

b)

A few metres

c)

100 metres

d)

More than 1km (almost infinite)

30.

What material can be used to absorb gamma radiation?

a)

Thin aluminium (a few mm thick)

b)

Thick lead or concrete

c)

A piece of wood

d)

A sheet of paper

31.

Which radiation is the most penetrating?

a)

Alpha

b)

Beta

c)

Sound

d)

Gamma

32.
What is the range of gamma radiation in air
a)
A few centimetres (up to 5 cm)
b)
About 1 metre
c)
100 metres
d)
More than 1km (almost infinite)
33.
What happens to an atom when it is ionised?
a)
It loses or gains neutrons
b)
It loses or gains electrons
c)
It loses or gains protons
d)
It disappears
34.
Which radiation is the most ionising?
a)
Alpha
b)
Beta
c)
X-ray
d)
Gamma
35.
What is the structure of a beta particle?
a)
An electron
b)
A neutron
c)
Two protons and two neutrons. This is the same as a helium nucleus.
d)
An electromagnetic wave
36.
Which type of nuclear radiation is not a particle?
a)
Alpha
b)
Beta
c)
Gamma
d)
Neutron
37.
What charge is an electron?
a)
It's a wave, it has no charge
b)
Neutral (no charge)
c)
Positively charged.
d)
Negatively charged.
38.

As well as alpha, beta and gamma radiation, the nucleus can also emit...

a)

Sound

b)

A neutron

c)

Isotopes

d)

Half-life

39.
How many protons does gold atom have?
a)
197
b)
79
c)
118
d)
276
40.
What is the mass of a proton?
a)
1
b)
2
c)
-1
d)
0
41.
What is the charge of an electron?
a)
1
b)
0
c)
-1
d)
4
42.
What is an alpha particle?
a)
1 high speed electron
b)
2 protons
c)
2 neutrons
d)
2 protons + 2 neutrons
43.
What is the mass of an alpha particle?
a)
1
b)
2
c)
3
d)
4
44.
If radiation is detected through paper, which 2 types could it be?
a)
Alpha & beta
b)
Beta & gamma
c)
Alpha & gamma
45.
Which is the most highly ionizing?
a)
Alpha
b)
Beta
c)
Gamma
46.
What is the definition of an isotope?
a)
An atom with different electron number to proton number
b)
An atom with different proton number from neutron number
c)
An atom with different number of protons from the periodic table
d)
An atom with a different number of neutrons from the periodic table
47.
Iodine-131 has a half life of 8 days.  A sample starts with 3000 counts per second.  How many days will it take to have a count rate of 94 days?
a)
32 days
b)
40 days
c)
375 days
d)
16 days
48.
What happens during beta decay?
a)
Neutron turns into a proton; proton number goes up by 1, mass number stays the same.
b)
Neutron turns into a proton; proton number stays the same, mass number goes up by 1.
c)
It releases 2 protons + 2 neutrons; mass number decreases by 4, proton number decreases by 2
d)
Proton turns into a neutron; proton number goes up by 1, mass number stays the same.
49.
What is the half-life of iodine-131?
a)
32 days
b)
8 days
c)
16 days
d)
24 days
50.

The % of the parent isotope remaining after 1 Half Life.

a)

50%

b)

25%

c)

12.5%

d)

6.25%

51.

The % of the parent isotope remaining after 2 Half Lives.

a)

50%

b)

25%

c)

12.5%

d)

6.25%

52.

What is the Half life of this isotope?

a)

5 seconds

b)

10 seconds

c)

15 seconds

d)

20 seconds

53.

What is the Half Life of this isotope?

a)

3 days

b)

5 days

c)

8 days

d)

10 days

54.
What is Half-life?
a)
The amount of time it takes for some of the nuclei in a sample of the isotope to decay
b)
The amount of time it takes for half the electrons in a sample of the isotope to decay
c)
The amount of time it takes for half the nuclei in a sample of the isotope to decay
d)
the amount of time it takes to double the nuclei in a sample of the isotope to decay
55.
If one-fourth of the carbon-14 is remaining then how many half-lives have passed?
a)
1
b)
2
c)
3
d)
4
56.

Why do some elements have half-lives?

a)

they radioactively decay

b)

half of their atom gets stolen

c)

They are Twizzlers that break in half

57.

What is the only difference between two different isotopes of the same element?

a)

Number of neutrons

b)

Number of protons

c)

Number of electrons

d)

Size of atom

58.

After the third half-life, how much of the sample is left?

a)

1/2

b)

1/3

c)

1/16

d)

1/8

59.
After the third half-life, how much of the sample is left?
a)
1/2
b)
1/3
c)
1/16
d)
1/8
60.
If 10 mg of iodine 131 is given to a patient, how much is left after 24 days? The half-life of iodine-131 is 8 days.
a)
1.25mg
b)
1.25g
c)
10g
d)
10mg
61.
The half-life of strontium-90 is 25 years. How much strontium-90 will remain after 100 years if the initial amount is 4.0 g?
a)
3.0g
b)
0.25mg
c)
0.3g
d)
0.25g
62.
If the half-life of uranium-232 is 70 years, how many half-lives will it take for 10 g of it to be reduced to 1.25 g?
a)
1 half-life
b)
2 half-lives
c)
3 half-lives
d)
4 half-lives
63.

After 22,800 years, approximately what percentage of the original carbon-14 remains?

a)

15%

b)

12.5%

c)

6.25%

d)

3.125%

64.
What is the half-life of iodine-131?
a)
32 days
b)
8 days
c)
16 days
d)
24 days
65.

The % of the parent isotope remaining after 1 Half Life.

a)

50%

b)

25%

c)

12.5%

d)

6.25%

66.

The % of the parent isotope remaining after 2 Half Lives.

a)

50%

b)

25%

c)

12.5%

d)

6.25%

67.

The diagram shows 32 atoms

32 of the Red are the parent isotope

0 of the atoms are daughter isotopes

How many half-lives have occurred?

a)

0

b)

1

c)

2

d)

3

68.

The diagram shows 32 atoms.

16 of the Red are parent isotopes

16 of the Green are daughter isotopes

How many half-lives have occurred?

a)

0

b)

1

c)

2

d)

3

69.

What is the Half life of this isotope?

a)

5 seconds

b)

10 seconds

c)

15 seconds

d)

20 seconds

70.

What is the Half Life of this isotope?

a)

3 days

b)

5 days

c)

8 days

d)

10 days

71.
What type of decay is being illustrated in following picture? 
a)
beta decay
b)
alpha decay 
72.
Imagine you have 50,000 atoms of uranium-238. If U-238 has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, how many U-238 atoms will be left after 4.5 billion years? 
a)
25,000
b)
50,000
c)
12,500
d)
0
73.
You have 100 grams of radioactive C-14. The half life of C-14 is 5730 years. 
How many grams are left after 1 half life? 
a)
100 grams
b)
25 grams
c)
2 grams
d)
50 grams
74.

Which of these is the most suitable description of background radiation

a)

a measure of the level of ionizing radiation present in the environment at a particular location

b)

a measure of how much radiation you absorb

c)

a measure of radiation that comes from space only

d)

a measure of radiation that comes from the buildings

75.

Which gas is the most common source of background radiation

a)

Radium

b)

Radio

c)

Radon

d)

Rubidium

76.

A student measures the background count three times and gets these readings 20, 23 and 26 counts per second. Which of these is the correct average count?

a)

3

b)

22

c)

23

d)

51

77.

Which of these best describes why radon is a dangerous radioactive gas

a)

it can be breathed in and out

b)

it can be breathed in and it can mutate DNA

c)

it mutates all cells

d)

It can be breathed in and it can go the the brain

78.

which answer best states the two methods of detecting radiation

a)

Geiger counter and a camera

b)

Geiger counter and photographic film

c)

A GM tube and a camera

d)

GM tube and photographic film

79.

After Radon, which of these is the biggest source of background radiation?

a)

Buildings and ground

b)

Nuclear power stations

c)

Water

d)

The sun

80.

A sample of rock gives a count per second of 280. Why is this not a correct measure of the radioactivity of the rock

a)

it is too high for any rock

b)

It also includes the cosmic rays

c)

it also contains the background count

d)

they have removed the background count

81.

Explain how to adjust the count to give the correct count of a radioactive sample

a)

add the background count to the sample count

b)

multiply the sample count by the background count

c)

divide the sample count by the background count

d)

subtract the background count from the sample count

82.

A sample of a radioactive rock gives a count of 138. If the average background count is 27, calculate the count rate of the sample

a)

165

b)

3726

c)

5

d)

111

83.

All radiation is harmful to life. Is this statement true or false?

a)

true

b)

false

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