At approximately what number of protons, or neutrons, does the 1:1 ratio of protons to neutrons start to produce unstable nuclei?

1. A) 10
2. B) 20
3. C) 30
4. D) 50
5. E) 80

B

Of the following processes, which one changes the atomic number?

1. A) alpha emission
2. B) beta emission
3. C) electron capture
4. D) positron emission
5. E) All of these processes change the atomic numbers.

E

What is required for a nuclear transmutation to occur?

1. A) very high temperature
2. B) a corrosive environment
3. C) a particle to collide with a nucleus or neutron
4. D) spontaneous nuclear decay
5. E) gamma emission

C

The product of the nuclear reaction in which 28Si is subjected to neutron capture followed by alpha emission is ________.

1. A) 31S
2. B) 33S
3. C) 23Mg
4. D) 25Mg
5. E) 25Al

D

In the nuclear transmutation, O (p, α)N, what is the bombarding particle?

1. A) an alpha particle
2. B) a beta particle
3. C) a gamma photon
4. D) a proton
5. E) a phosphorus nucleus

D

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?

1. A) 46
2. B) 32
3. C) 3.2
4. D) 50
5. E) 52

A

Cesium-131 has a half-life of 9.7 days. What percent of a cesium-131 sample remains after 60 days?

1. A) 100
2. B) 0
3. C) 1.4
4. D) 98.6
5. E) more information is needed to solve the problem

C

The half-life of 218Po is 3.1 minutes. How much of a 155 gram sample remains after 0.40 hours?

1. A) 0.00067 g
2. B) 0.0072 g
3. C) 0.72 g
4. D) 0.0047 g
5. E) none of the above

C

What radioactive element is used to diagnose medical conditions of the heart and arteries?

1. A) cobalt-60
2. B) thallium-201
3. C) radium-226
4. D) radon-222
5. E) thorium-234

B

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

E) electron capture

B

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) electron capture

E) gamma

E

Alpha decay produces a new nucleus whose ________ than those respectively of the original nucleus.

A) atomic number is 2 less and mass number is 2 less

B) atomic number is 1 less and mass number is 2 less

C) atomic number is 2 less and mass number is 4 less

D) atomic number is 2 more and mass number is 4 more

E) atomic number is 2 more and mass number is 2 less

C

What is the atomic number of a neutron?

A) 3

B) 1

C) 2

D) 0

E) 4

D

What happens to the mass number and the atomic number of an element when it emits gamma 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.

E) The mass number and atomic numbers remain unchanged.

E

Atoms with the same atomic number and different mass numbers ________.

A) do not exist

B) are isomers

C) are isotopes

D) are allotropes

E) are resonance structures

C

How many radioactive decay series exist in nature?

A) 0

B) 1

C) 2

D) 3

E) 10

D

Carbon-11 decays by ________.

A) alpha emission

B) beta emission

C) positron emission

D) photon emission

E) neutron capture

C

The formation of krypton from rubidium decay is a result of ________.

A) alpha emission

B) beta emission

C) positron emission

D) electron capture

E) neutron capture

D

The mode of decay of 32P is ________.

1. A) alpha emission
2. B) beta emission
3. C) positron emission
4. D) electron capture
5. E) neutron capture

B

The belt of nuclear stability ends with the element ________.

A) lead

B) polonium

C) radon

D) astatine

E) bismuth

E

Cobalt-60 is produced by a three reaction process involving neutron capture, beta-emission, and neutron capture. The initial reactant in the production of cobalt-60 is ________.

1. A) 59Co
2. B) 56Fe
3. C) 58Fe
4. D) 61Co
5. E) 60Fe

C

Transuranium elements have atomic numbers greater than ________.

A) 90

B) 91

C) 92

D) 93

E) 94

C

Which one of the following can be done to shorten the half-life of the radioactive decay of uranium-238?

1. A) freeze it
2. B) heat it
3. C) convert it to UF6
4. D) oxidize it to the +2 oxidation state
5. E) none of the above

E

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

E) 131

D

The half-life of carbon-11 is 20.3 minutes. How much of a 100.0 mg sample remains after 1.50 hours?

A) 8.48 mg

B) 4.63 mg

C) 12.9 mg

D) 22.6 mg

E) 7.70 mg

B

) The half-life of 131I is 0.220 years. How much of a 500.0 mg sample remains after 24 hours?

1. A) 496 mg
2. B) 560 mg
3. C) 219 mg
4. D) 405 mg
5. E) 337 mg

A

The half-life of 223Ra is 11.4 days. How much of a 200.0 mg sample remains after 600 hours?

1. A) 0.219 mg
2. B) 21.9 mg
3. C) .0302 mg
4. D) 43.8 mg
5. E) 6.04 mg

D

The half-life of 222Rn is 3.80 days. If a sample contains 36.0 g of Rn-222, how many years will it take for the sample to be reduced to 1.00 mg of Rn-222?

1. A) 19.7
2. B) 0.1597
3. C) 8.53
4. D) 0.0234
5. E) none of the above

B

The carbon-14 dating method can be used to determine the age of a ________.

A) flint arrowhead

B) papyrus scroll

C) stone axe head

D) clay pot

E) rock

B

The basis for the carbon-14 dating method is that ________.

A) the amount of carbon-14 in all objects is the same

B) carbon-14 is very unstable and is readily lost from the atmosphere

C) the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in the atmosphere is a constant

D) living tissue will not absorb carbon-14 but will absorb carbon-12

E) All of the above are correct.

C

The half-life of a radionuclide ________.

A) is constant

B) gets shorter with passing time

C) gets longer with passing time

D) gets shorter with increased temperature

E) gets longer with increased temperature

A

The curie is a measure of the ________.

A) number of disintegrations per second of a radioactive substance

B) total energy absorbed by an object exposed to a radioactive source

C) lethal threshold for radiation exposure

D) number of alpha particles emitted by exactly one gram of a radioactive substance

E) None of the above is correct.

A

What is a phosphor?

1. A) an oxide of phosphorus
2. B) a substance that thermally reduces to phosphorus
3. C) a bioluminescent substance
4. D) a substance that emits light when excited by radiation

E) an alkali metal phosphide

D

Which one of the following devices converts radioactive emissions to light for detection?

1. A) Geiger counter
2. B) photographic film
3. C) scintillation counter
4. D) radiotracer
5. E) none of the above

C

Which one of the following is used as a radiotracer to study blood?

A) iron-59

B) technetium-99

C) sodium-23

D) iodine-131

E) phosphorus-32

A

Which one of the following is true?

A) Some spontaneous nuclear reactions are exothermic.

B) Some spontaneous nuclear reactions are endothermic.

C) All spontaneous nuclear reactions are exothermic.

D) There is no relationship between exothermicity and spontaneity in nuclear reactions.

E) All spontaneous nuclear reactions are endothermic.

C

In terms of binding energy per nucleon, what element divides fission and fusion processes?

A) H

B) He

C) C

D) Fe

E) U

D

What type of reaction is known as a thermonuclear reaction?

A) fission

B) fusion

C) transmutation

D) beta emission

E) neutron emission

B

The main scientific difficulty in achieving a controlled fusion process is the ________.

A) enormous repulsion between nuclei being fused

B) enormous repulsion between the electrons of atoms being fused

C) very large number of positrons emitted

D) very large number of x-rays emitted

E) very large number of gamma rays emitted

A

What exposure level to radiation is fatal to most humans?

A) 100 rem

B) 200 rem

C) 600 rem

D) 300 rem

E) 1000 rem

C

Which one of the following is not true concerning radon?

A) It decays by alpha emission.

B) It decays to polonium-218, an alpha emitter.

C) It is chemically active in human lungs.

D) It has been implicated in lung cancer.

E) It is generated as uranium decays.

C

Which one of the following forms of radiation can penetrate the deepest into body tissue?

A) alpha

B) beta

C) gamma

D) positron

E) proton

C

What percentage of electricity generated in the U.S. is from commercial nuclear plants?

A) 1%

B) 10%

C) 19%

D) 50%

E) 90%

C

By what process does thorium-230 decay to radium-226?

A) gamma emission

B) alpha emission

C) beta emission

D) electron capture

E) positron emission

B

The alpha decay of what isotope of what element produces lead-206?

A) polonium-210

B) radon-222

C) mercury-202

D) bismuth-208

E) thallium-204

A

Which one of the following processes results in a decrease in the number of neutrons?

A) alpha emission

B) gamma emission

C) positron emission

D) corrosion

E) electron capture

A

In what type of radioactive decay does the atomic number of the product decrease by one?

A) positron emission

B) corrosion

C) alpha

D) beta

E) gamma

A

When an atom of an element undergoes beta decay, its proton count will change by ________ and its neutron count will change by ________.

A) +1, -1

B) 0, 0

C) -1, +1

D) -2, -2

E) -1, -1

A