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Fundamentals of Nuclear Physics

Total questions: 25

Worksheet time: 13mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What is the nucleus of an atom composed of?

a)

Neutrons and electrons

b)

Protons and electrons

c)

Protons and neutrons

d)

Electrons and protons

2.

What is the force that holds the nucleus of an atom together?

a)

Weak nuclear force

b)

Strong nuclear force

c)

Gravitational force

d)

Electromagnetic force

3.

What is the process of splitting an atomic nucleus called?

a)

Nuclear fission

b)

Nuclear fusion

c)

Nuclear fusion

d)

Atomic splitting

e)

Atomic fusion

4.

What is the term for the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom?

a)

elemental number

b)

nuclear charge

c)

proton count

d)

atomic number

5.

What is the term for the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom?

a)

electron configuration

b)

atomic number

c)

nuclear charge

d)

mass number

6.

What is the unit used to measure the energy released in a nuclear reaction?

a)

electronvolt (eV)

b)

watt

c)

ampere

d)

joule

7.

What is the term for the spontaneous emission of radiation from an unstable nucleus?

a)

radioactive decay

b)

isotopic breakdown

c)

nuclear fission

d)

atomic decay

8.

What is the most common type of radioactive decay?

a)

Gamma decay

b)

Electron capture

c)

Alpha decay

d)

Beta decay

9.

What is the term for the time it takes for half of a radioactive substance to decay?

a)

semi-life

b)

half-life

c)

mid-life

d)

partial-life

10.

What is the equation that represents the relationship between mass and energy in nuclear reactions?

a)

E=mc^3

b)

E=mc

c)

E=mc^2

d)

E=mc^4

11.

What is the process of combining atomic nuclei called?

a)

Nuclear fusion

b)

Nuclear combination

c)

Nuclear fission

d)

Atomic fusion

12.

What is the term for the splitting of a heavy nucleus into two lighter nuclei?

a)

nuclear fusion

b)

nuclear fission

c)

nuclear fusion

d)

atomic fusion

e)

nuclear division

13.

What is the primary source of energy in nuclear power plants?

a)

Wind energy

b)

Nuclear fission

c)

Hydropower

d)

Solar power

14.

What is the term for the process of slowing down neutrons to increase the likelihood of a nuclear reaction?

a)

neutron moderation

b)

neutron acceleration

c)

electron deceleration

d)

proton moderation

15.

What is the term for the minimum amount of fissionable material needed to sustain a chain reaction?

a)

supermassive

b)

subcritical mass

c)

critical mass

d)

critical point

16.

Which nuclide is the most stable?

a)

calcium-40

b)

hydrogen-1

c)

iron-56

d)

carbon-12

17.

Which shows correctly the calculation of mass defect of a nucleus?

a)

(mass of nucleus) − (total mass of separate neutrons)

b)

(total mass of separate neutrons) − (mass of nucleus)

c)

(mass of nucleus) − (total mass of separate nucleons)

d)

(total mass of separate nucleons) − (mass of nucleus)

18.

What is meant by binding energy?

a)

minimum energy required to separate nucleons in a nucleus to infinity

b)

maximum energy required to separate nucleons in a nucleus to infinity

c)

minimum energy required to remove one nucleon from a nucleus

d)

maximum energy required to remove one nucleon from a nucleus

19.

Uranium-235 has 92 protons and a binding energy of 1786 MeV. Calculate its binding energy per nucleon.

a)

19.4 MeV

b)

7.6 MeV

c)

12.5 MeV

d)

0.13 MeV

20.

Which of the following statements is wrong?

a)

Activity is the number of decay per unit time.

b)

Activity depends on half-life.

c)

Activity depends on decay constant.

d)

Activity can measured directly using a GM tube.

21.

A house is found to have high level of radon gas. The acitivity is 2000 Bq per unit cubic metre of air. The action level recommended by UK is 200 Bq/m3. How long does it take for activity to fall below the action level if there is no influx of more radon gas? (half life of radon = 3.8 days.)

a)

13 days

b)

19 days

c)

23 days

d)

10 days

22.

Which of the following equations about activity (A), count rate (R), and number of undecayed nuclei (N) are correct?

a)

 A=A0eλtA=A_0e^{\lambda t}  

b)

 R=R0e−λtR=R_0e^{-\lambda t} 

c)

 N=N0eλtN=N_0e^{\lambda t} 

d)

 N=N0e−λtN=N_0e^{-\lambda t} 

23.

A sample of cobalt-60 has a mass of 8.84×10−10 g and activity of 3.7×104 Bq. What is the half-life of cobalt-60? (NA=6.02×1023; u=1.66×10−27 kg.)

a)

5.27 days

b)

5.27 years

c)

52.7 years

d)

527 years

24.

Which of the following cause measured count rate to be different than activity? (Select all.)

a)

Detector has dead time.

b)

Radiation is absorbed by the sample.

c)

Detector has 100% efficiency.

d)

Detector covers sample fully.

e)

There is background radiation.

25.

Which of the following steps is NOT required when measuring half-life of radioisotope that is extremely long-lived?

a)

Measure number of parent nuclei

b)

Plot activity against time

c)

Use  A=λNA=\lambda N 

d)

Measure activity