1.

The "magic numbers" for atoms are

(a) numbers of electrons that atomic stability.
(b) numbers of protons and/or neutrons that confer nuclear stability.
(c) n/p ratios that confer nuclear stability.
(d) atomic masses that confer nuclear stability.
2. The actual mass of a 37Cl atom is 36.966 amu. Calculate the mass defect
(amu/atom) for a 37Cl atom.
(a) 0.623 amu (b) 0.388 amu (c) 0.263 amu (d) 0.341 amu
3. The mass defect for an isotope was found to be 0.410 amu/atom. Calculate
the binding energy in kJ/mol of atoms. (1 J = 1 kg m2/s2)
(a) 3.69 x 1010 kJ/mol (b) 1.23 x 1020 kJ/mol
(c) 3.69 x 1013 kJ/mol (d) 1.23 x 103 kJ/mol
4. Calculate the binding energy per nucleon (in units of MeV) for 9Be, for
which the atomic mass is 9.01219 amu. Particle masses in amu are:
proton = 1.007277; neutron = 1.008665; electron = 0.0005486.
Conversion factor for E = mc2 is 931 MeV/amu.
(a) 6.46 MeV (b) 6.33 MeV (c) 6.23 MeV (d) 11.39 MeV
5. Which isotope below has the highest nuclear binding energy per gram? No
calculation is necessary.
4
(a) He (b) 16O (c) 32S (d) 55Mn
6. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
(a) Mass defect is the amount of matter that would be converted into energy
if a nucleus were formed from initially separated protons and neutrons.
(b) Nuclear binding energy is the energy released in the formation of an atom
from subatomic particles.
(c) Nuclei with highest binding energies are the most stable nuclei.
(d) Mass number is the sum of all protons and electrons in an atom.
7. A positron has a mass number of _........., a charge of ………, and a mass
equal to that of a(an) _____.
(a) 0, 1+, proton (b) 1, 2+, proton
(c) 0, 1+, electron (d) 1, 2+, electron
8. Emission of which one of the following leaves both atomic number and
mass number unchanged?
(a) positron (b) neutron (c) alpha particle (d) gamma radiation
9. Which type of radiation is the least penetrating?
(a) alpha (b) beta (c) gamma (d) x-ray
10. A radioisotope of argon, 35Ar, lies below the "band of stability: (n/p ratio
too low). One would predict that it decays via _____. emission
(a) neutron (b) beta (c) positron (d) alpha
11. A Geiger-Muller tube is a _____ .
(a) gas ionization detector (b) cloud chamber
(c) fluorescence detector (d) spectrophotometer
12. The half-life of 231Pa is 3.25 x 104 years. How much of an initial 10.40
microgram sample remains after 3.25 x 105 years?
(a) 0.0102 micrograms (b) 0.240 micrograms
(c) 2.18 micrograms (d) 0.0240 micrograms
13. Consider the case of a radioactive element X which decays by electron
(beta) emission with a half-life of 4 days to a stable nuclide of element
Z. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
(a) After 8 days the sample will consist of one-fourth element Z and three-
fourths element X.
(b) Element Z will weigh exactly the same as element X when decay is
complete (weighed to an infinite number of significant figures).
(c) 2.0 g of element X is required to produce 1.5 g of element Z after 8 days
(to 2 significant figures).
(d) If element X as an atomic number equal to n, then element X has an
atomic number equal to n-1.
14. Carbon-11 is a radioactive isotope of carbon. Its half-life is 20 minutes.
What fraction of the initial number of C-11 atoms in a sample will have
decayed away after 80 minutes?
(a) 1/16 (b) 1/8 (c) ¼ (d) 15/16
3
15. How old is a bottle of wine if the tritium ( H) content (called activity) is
25% that of a new wine? The half-life of tritium is 12.5 years.
(a) 1/4 yr (b) 3.1 yr (c) 25 yr (d) 37.5 yr
16. A Geiger counter registered 1000 counts/second from a sample that
contained a radioactive isotope of polonium. After 5.0 minutes, the
counter registered 281 counts/second. What is the half-life of this
isotope in seconds?
(a) 87 (b) 110 (c) 164 (d) 264
17. The 14C activity of some ancient Peruvian corn was found to be 10
disintegrations per minute per gram of C. If present-day plant life
shows 15 dpm/g, how old is the Peruvian corn? The half-life of 14C is
5730 years.
(a) 1455 years (b) 1910 years (c) 3350 years (d) 3820 years
18. Which of the following describes what occurs in the fission process?
(a) A heavy nucleus is fragmented into lighter ones.
(b) A neutron is split into a neutron and proton.
(c) Two light nuclei are combined into a heavier one.
(d) A proton is split into three quarks.
19. Which of the following statements about nuclear fission is always correct?
(a) Very little energy is released in fission processes.
(b) Nuclear fission is an energetically favorable process for heavy atoms.
(c) Due to its instability, 56Fe readily undergoes fission.
(d) In fission reactions, a neutron is split into a proton and an electron.
20. Which one of the following would be most likely to undergo
thermonuclear fusion?
2
(a) H (b) 4He (c) 56Fe (d) 141Ba

21. Which one of the following statements about nuclear reactions is false?
(a) Particles within the nucleus are involved.
(b) No new elements can be produced.
(c) Rate of reaction is independent of the presence of a catalyst.
(d) Rate of reaction is independent of temperature.
22. Complete and balance the following equation. The missing term is _____ .
239
Pu + alpha particle _____ + neutron
106 235
(a) Cm
242
(b) 2 Rh (c) U (d) 233Pa
23. When 59Cu undergoes positron emission, what is the immediate nuclear
product?
59
(a) Ni (b) 58Ni (c) 58Cu (d) 58Zn
24. As a result of the process of electron capture ("K-capture") by 211At, the
new isotope formed is:
210
(a) At (b) 212At (c) 211Po (d)207Bi
 25. When 235U is bombarded with one neutron, fission occurs and the products
are three neutrons, 94Kr, and _____ .
139
(a) Ba (b) 141Ba (c) 139Ce (d) 139Xe

Answers:1. (b) 2. (d) 3. (a) 4. (a) 5. (d) 6. (d) 7. (c) 8. (d) 9. (a) 10. (c) 11. (a) 12. (a) 13. (c) 14. (d)
15. (c) 16. (c) 17. (c) 18. (a) 19. (b) 20. (a) 21. (b) 22. (a) 23. (a) 24. (c) 25. (a)
1. Beta radiation is the
a) transmutation of a neutron into a proton and electron. The electron is emitted.
b) transmutation of a neutron into a proton and electron. The proton is emitted.
c) transmutation of a proton into a neutron and electron. The electron is emitted.
d) transmutation of a proton into a neutron and electron. The proton is emitted.
2. The atomic number decreases by two during what type of radiation?
a) alpha b) beta c) gamma d) none of the choices
3. X-rays are an example of what type of radiation?
a) alpha b) beta c) gamma d) transmutation
4. The atomic number increases by one during what type of radioactive decay?
a) alpha b) beta c) gamma d) none of the choices
5. After three half-lives, what fraction of the original radioactive isotope
remains?
a) 1/16 b) 1/2 c) 1/4 d) 1/8
6. The source of energy produced by the sun is the
a) burning of fossil fuel. c) fusion of hydrogen.
b) fission of uranium. d) none of the choices
7. Nuclear fission is a reaction during which the
a) nucleus of an atom is fused with another nucleus.
b) nucleus of an atom is stimulated to split into fragments by some source.
c) nucleus of an atom loses a proton with the release of energy.
d) nucleus of an atom spontaneously splits into fragments.
8. In nuclear fusion
a) large unstable nuclei are fused and then split.
b) large unstable nuclei are split, releasing energy.
c) small, relatively stable nuclei are fused together to create a larger atom.
d) small, relatively stable nuclei are split, releasing energy.

Group 3
1. What was the first particle discovered inside an atom?
A. Proton B. Neutron C. Electron D. Nucleus
2. What characteristic of cathode rays led scientists to believe that they were
negatively charged? They …………………….
A. were small B. were easily deflected
C. were deflected towards a positive electrode D. moved quickly
3. Millikan discovered the charge of this subatomic particle by calculating the
charge of small oil droplets.
A. Electron B. Neutron C. Proton D. Nucleus

4. Of the three types of radioactivity characterized by Rutherford, which are

particles?
A. α-rays, β-rays, and γ-rays B. γ-rays
C. α-rays and γ-rays D. α-rays and β-rays
5. Which form of radiation has a positive charge?
A. α B. β C. γ D. δ
6. The gold foil experiment __________.
A. confirmed the plum-pudding model of the atom
B. led to the discovery of the atomic nucleus
C. was the basis for Thomson's model of the atom
D. utilized the deflection of beta particles by gold foil
7. The nucleus of an atom does not contain __________.
A. Subatomic particles B. protons or neutrons C. neutrons D. electrons
8. Which subatomic particle has the smallest mass?
A. Proton B. Neutron C. Electron D. Nucleus
9. Which subatomic particle has a positive charge?
A. Proton B. Neutron C. Electron D. Nucleus
10. The atomic number indicates __________.
A. the number of neutrons in a nucleus
B. the total number of neutrons and protons in a nucleus
C. the number of protons in a neutral atom
D. the number of atoms in 1 g of an element
11. In the symbol, 6Cx , x is __________. number
A. of neutrons B. atomic C. mass D. isotope number
12. There are ________electrons, ________protons, and ________neutrons in an atom of 55Cs133.
A. 132, 132, 54 B. 54, 54, 132 C. 78, 78, 54 D. 55, 55, 78
13. How many electrons are in an Iron atom?
A. 23 B. 26 C. 27 D. 28
14. In balancing the nuclear reaction 92U238 → 90E234 + 2He4, the identity of
element E is __________.
A. Pu B. Np C. Th D. Pa
15. This reaction 84Po210 → 82Pb206 + _____ is an example of _______.
A. alpha decay B. beta emission
C. gamma emission D. positron emission
16. The missing product from this reaction 53I121 → 52Te121 + _____
A. 2He 4 B. -1e 0 C. 0n1 D. 1e0
17. This reaction is an example of __________20Ca41 → 19K41 + _____
A. alpha decay B. beta decay C. positron decay D. electron capture
18. Which isotope has 45 neutrons?
A. 36Kr 80 B. 35Br80 C. 34Se 78 D. 17Cl34
19. Bombardment of uranium-235 with a neutron generates tellurium-135, 3
neutrons, and __________.
A. zirconium-98. . krypton-101. C. krypton-103. D. strontium-99.
20. The reaction 7N + ................ → 6C + 1H 1 is responsible for creating C14
14 14

in the atmosphere. What is the bombarding particle?

A. alpha particle B. electron C. neutron D. positron
21. What happens to the mass number and the atomic number of an element
when it undergoes beta decay?
a) Neither the mass number nor the atomic number change.
b) The mass number decreases by 4 and the atomic number decreases by 2.
c) The mass number does not change and the atomic number increases by 1.
d) The mass number does not change and the atomic number decreases by 2.
22. Which one of the following is a correct representation of a beta particle?
A. 2e4 B. 0β1 C. -1e 0 D. 4β 2
23. Which one of the following processes results in an increase in the atomic
number? ......................... emission
A. gamma B. positron C. beta D. alpha
24. Of the following processes, which one changes the atomic number?
A. alpha emission B. beta emission
C. electron capture D. positron emission
25. In what type of radioactive decay does the atomic number of the product
increase by one?
A. alpha B. beta C. gamma D. positron emission
26. Which type of radioactive decay results in no change in mass number and
atomic number for the starting nucleus?
A. alpha B. beta C. positron emission D. gamma ray
27. What happens to the mass number and the atomic number of an element
when it emits alpha radiation?
a) The mass number remains unchanged while the atomic number decreases by one.
b) The mass number decreases by four and the atomic number decreases by two.
c) The mass number increases by four and the atomic number increases by two.
d) The mass number remains unchanged while the atomic number increases by one.
28. Different isotopes of a particular element contain the same number of __
a) protons c) protons and neutrons
b) neutrons d) subatomic particles
29. Element X has three
naturally occurring i. Isotope % Mass
isotopes. The masses (amu) ii. 40X 13.01 40.10
and % abundances of the iii. 41X 6.98 41.00
isotopes are given in the iv. 44X 79.99 43.98
table below. The average
atomic mass of the element is ………………… amu.
A. 43.26 B. 39.68 C. 39.07 D. 38.64
30. The beta decay of cesium-137 has a half-life of 30.0 years. How many years
must pass to reduce a 25 mg sample of cesium-137 to 8.7 mg?
A. 46 B. 32 C. 3.2 D. 52
31. The half-life for beta decay of strontium-90 is 28.8 years. A milk sample is
found to contain 10.3 ppm strontium-90. How many years would pass before the
strontium-90 concentration would drop to 1.0 ppm?
A. 92.3 B. 0.112 C. 186 D. 96.9
32. The half-life of 131I is 0.220 years. How much of a 500.0 mg sample remains
after 24 hours?
A. 496 mg B. 560 mg C. 219 mg D. 405 mg