Physical Science Test: Nuclear Energy



Physical Science Test: Nuclear Energy

Multiple Choice

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1. How does nuclear fusion create new elements inside stars?

|A. |All the nuclei repel each other because of their positive charges. |

|B. |Small nuclei cause large nuclei to break apart. |

|C. |Large nuclei combine, then form smaller nuclei. |

|D. |Small nuclei combine to form larger nuclei. |

2. The sun is made up mostly of

|A. |hydrogen. |B. |iron. |C. |carbon. |D. |beryllium. |

3. The half-life of calcium-47 is about 5 days. Starting with 64 g of this isotope, what would be the amount remaining after 20 days?

|A. |32 g |B. |16 g |C. |8 g |D. |4 g |

4. Fusion reactions require ____.

|A. |very heavy nuclei. |C. |very rare elements for use as fuel. |

|B. |incredibly high temperatures. |D. |no initial energy. |

5. Which of the following generally have the lowest penetrating ability?

|A. |alpha particles |

|B. |beta particles |

|C. |gamma rays |

|D. |All have the same penetrating ability. |

6. Which of the following has the greatest penetrating ability?

|A. |alpha particles |

|B. |beta particles |

|C. |gamma rays |

|D. |All have the same penetrating ability. |

7. To use radioactive dating for a substance, you must know the substance's

|A. |melting point. |C. |rate of weathering or erosion. |

|B. |half-life. |D. |enthalpy of reaction. |

8. What device uses controlled nuclear fission to produce new radioactive substances and energy?

|A. |synchrotron |C. |nuclear bomb |

|B. |nuclear reactor |D. |linear accelerator |

9. The energy as heat produced by a reactor is used to

|A. |boil water for steam turbines. |C. |produce graphite. |

|B. |melt metal. |D. |produce coal. |

10. The isotope strontium-90 is produced during the testing of nuclear weapons. If 100.0 mg of strontium-90 was released in the atmosphere in 1960, how much of the radioisotope remains 85 years later? The half life of strontium-90 is 29 years.

|A. |13mg |B. |26mg |C. |50mg |D. |42.5mg |

11. A radioactive compound Cobalt-60 has a half-life of 5272.0 years. What will be the amount remaining in a 100.0-g sample after 1600.0 years?

|A. |81.03g |B. |50g |C. |1300g |D. |2631g |

12. Why are cadmium or boron rods used in a nuclear fission reactor?

|A. |To absorb the alpha emission. |C. |To provide chemical combustion. |

|B. |To protect people from radiation. |D. |To absorb neutrons produced. |

13. During the process of electron capture, an electron from outside the nucleus joins with a proton to form ____.

|A. |a neutron. |C. |another proton. |

|B. |a positron. |D. |a gamma ray. |

14. One product of all nuclear fission reactions is ____.

|A. |protons. |B. |energy. |C. |electrons. |D. |neutrons. |

15. One of the most serious problems surrounding the use of nuclear power plants is ____.

|A. |finding a way to dispose of spent fuel rods. |

|B. |the high cost of coolant needed. |

|C. |a lack of uranium. |

|D. |initiating a chain reaction in the fuel. |

16. What does the 4 in [pic] represent?

|A. |the mass number |C. |the number of protons |

|B. |the atomic number |D. |the number of neutrons |

17. What does the 101 in [pic] represent?

|A. |the mass number |C. |the nuclide number |

|B. |the atomic number |D. |the number of neutrons |

18. What does the 218 in polonium-218 represent?

|A. |the mass number |C. |the mass defect |

|B. |the atomic number |D. |the neutron number |

19. The energy released in a nuclear reaction comes from

|A. |electrons. |C. |positrons. |

|B. |bonds. |D. |the binding energy of the nucleus. |

20. Which of the following lists ranks nuclear radiation from most massive to least massive?

|A. |alpha, beta, and gamma |C. |gamma, alpha, and beta |

|B. |beta, gamma, and alpha |D. |gamma, beta, and alpha |

21. Which of the following radioactive decay processes does not reduce the atomic number of a nuclide?

|A. |alpha decay |C. |positron decay |

|B. |beta decay |D. |electron capture |

22. Alpha particles are

|A. |electrons. |C. |electromagnetic waves. |

|B. |helium nuclei. |D. |neutrons. |

23. Beta particles are

|A. |electrons. |C. |electromagnetic waves. |

|B. |helium nuclei. |D. |neutrons. |

24. Gamma rays are

|A. |electrons. |C. |electromagnetic waves. |

|B. |helium nuclei. |D. |neutrons. |

25. Which statement is true about half-lives?

|A. |Different atoms of the same nuclide have different half-lives. |

|B. |Each radioactive isotope has its own half-life. |

|C. |All radioactive nuclides of an element have the same half-life. |

|D. |All radioactive nuclides have the same half-life. |

26. How are elements artificially transmuted?

|A. |Stable nuclei are bombarded with charged particles. |

|B. |Stable nuclei are bombarded with uncharged particles. |

|C. |Stable nuclei are bombarded with charged and uncharged particles. |

|D. |Unstable nuclei are bombarded with charged and uncharged particles. |

27. In an artificial transmutation, what is required to bombard nuclei with positively charged alpha particles, protons, and other ions?

|A. |great quantities of energy |C. |a particle accelerator |

|B. |small quantities of energy |D. |Both (a) and (c) |

28. Some artificial radioactive isotopes can be prepared by bombarding stable nuclei with

|A. |alpha particles. |C. |protons. |

|B. |beta particles. |D. |All of the above |

29. Which of the following travels fastest?

|A. |alpha particles |C. |gamma rays |

|B. |beta particles |D. |All travel at the same speed. |

30. Radioactive tracers are used to

|A. |measure the energy of nuclear reactions. |

|B. |calculate the half-life of a nuclide. |

|C. |estimate the age of a material. |

|D. |follow the movement of substances in a system. |

31. Radioactive tracers in fertilizers can be used to measure

|A. |how well the fertilizer is absorbed by plants. |

|B. |contaminants in the fertilizer. |

|C. |the chemical composition of the fertilizer. |

|D. |how plants respond to radioactivity. |

32. Which of the following processes produces nuclei of lower mass than the reactants?

|A. |fission |C. |Both (a) and (b) |

|B. |fusion |D. |Neither (a) nor (b) |

33. Scientists are investigating the possibility of containing fusion reactions within

|A. |steel containers. |C. |concrete casks. |

|B. |lead containers. |D. |magnetic fields. |

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