Nuclear physics — IGCSE Physics (0972) questions by topic

A student has four metal containers filled with the same volume of water at a temperature of 80 degrees C. The metal containers are put in a room at a temperature of 20 degrees C.…

The table shows the contribution to background radiation from the four most common sources. source percentage of total background radiation/% --------…

The unstable nucleus of an element undergoes radioactive decay. The proton number remains unchanged. Which description of this radioactive decay event is correct? A The nucleus…

An isotope of krypton has an atomic number of 36 and a mass number of 78. What is the number of protons in a krypton nucleus? A 36 B 42 C 78 D 114

An ion of the element oxygen is negatively charged. Which change causes the ion to become a neutral oxygen atom? A gain of electrons B gain of protons C loss of electrons D loss…

A nuclide of nitrogen is represented as (15/7)N (nucleon number 15, proton number 7). What is the number of neutrons in this nuclide? A 7 B 8 C 15 D 22

Which list only includes sources of naturally occurring background radiation? A cosmic rays, radon gas, nuclear power stations B food and drink, mobile phones, cosmic rays C rocks…

A student compares alpha emissions, beta emissions and gamma emissions. Which statement is correct? A Alpha emissions are the most ionising. B Beta emissions are the most…

In school laboratories, radioactive sources are stored in lead-lined boxes. Why is lead used? A Lead neutralises radiation. B Lead absorbs radiation. C Lead repels radiation. D…

The diagram shows a black object X at constant temperature. The arrows represent the absorption and emission of thermal radiation at the surface. Object Y is at the same constant…

In an alpha particle scattering experiment, a beam of alpha particles is fired at a very thin piece of gold foil. Four directions of travel after hitting the foil are shown: A…

An atom of boron contains 5 protons and 5 electrons. The nucleon number of the atom is 11. How many neutrons are there in the atom? A 5 B 6 C 11 D 16

A detector placed near a radioactive isotope gives a measured count rate of 800 counts/minute. The half-life of the isotope is three hours. The background count rate is 32…

Sodium-24 is a radioactive isotope that emits beta radiation. Which nuclear equation shows how sodium-24 decays? A (24,11)Na - (24,12)Mg + (0,-1)beta B (24,11)Na - (24,10)Ne +…

Which safety precautions must be taken when using a source of gamma radiation? 1 Reduce the distance between the source and the person. 2 Reduce the time of exposure to the…

Three solid copper spheres, X, Y and Z, are heated to the same temperature. sphere diameter colour of surface -------- ---------- ------------------- X 2d black Y d white Z 2d…

When a thin gold foil is bombarded with alpha particles, some alpha particles are deflected through large angles. Which statement explains this deflection? A Most of the atom…

A detector near a radioactive source shows a reading of 2000 counts/minute. How is the corrected count rate determined? A by moving the detector closer to the source B by placing…

Which statement about alpha, beta and gamma radiation is not correct? A Alpha particles are deflected most in an electric field. B Beta particles are deflected most in a magnetic…

A sample of a radioactive material has a half-life of 20 minutes. Which statement is correct? A After 30 minutes, less than half of the material has decayed. B After 40 minutes,…

Table 10.1 describes four nuclides: americium-241 (241/95 Am), plutonium-239 (239/94 Pu), plutonium-241 (241/94 Pu) and uranium-238 (238/92 U). Determine which two nuclides have…

A teacher uses the equipment shown in Fig. 6.1. Fig. 6.1 shows a bottle with one side painted as a dull black surface and the other side a shiny white surface. Thermometer X faces…

Radon-222 is a radioactive gas that emits alpha (α) particles. The nuclide notation for radon-222 is (222 over 86) Rn (mass number 222, proton number 86). State the number of…

Strontium-90 (⁹⁰₃₈Sr) is a radioactive isotope that contains 38 protons and 52 neutrons. Strontium-90 decays to form an isotope of yttrium (Y) by emitting beta (β) particles.…

Fig. 4.1 shows two metal containers, A and B. Container A has a dull black outer surface and container B has a shiny white outer surface. A and B both contain very hot water at…

State what is meant by background radiation.

A simple model of the atom consists of small particles orbiting a central nucleus. Which row is correct? A charge on nucleus: negative; orbiting particles: negative B charge on…

What is the charge on a proton and what is the charge on a neutron? A proton +1; neutron −1 B proton +1; neutron 0 C proton −1; neutron +1 D proton −1; neutron 0

An isotope of radon is radioactive. It decays by emitting an α-particle. What happens to the nucleus of a radon atom during the emission of the α-particle? A It becomes the…

The nuclide notation of the isotope strontium-90 is ⁹⁰₃₈Sr. Which statement is correct? A A nucleus of strontium-90 has 38 neutrons. B A nucleus of strontium-90 has 52 neutrons. C…

A box is used for storing radioactive sources. What is the best material to use for lining the box to prevent radiation from escaping? A aluminium B lead C paper D plastic

Which statement about the structure of an atom is correct? A Negative electrons surround a neutral nucleus. B Negative electrons surround a positive nucleus. C Positive electrons…

Four statements about isotopes of a certain element are listed. Which statement about the isotopes must be correct? A They are radioactive. B They are unstable. C They have the…

What makes a contribution to a person's annual dose of ionising radiation? A food and drink B greenhouse gases C mobile phone masts D radio and TV transmissions

The emissions from a radioactive source pass through a sheet of lead that is 10 mm thick. Which type of radiation is emitted from the source and how is the radiation affected by…

Radioactive waste is often mixed with liquid glass. This mixture solidifies and is stored in steel drums. Why is this process used to store radioactive waste? A It reduces the…

A scientist fires alpha-particles at a very thin sheet of gold and detects the particles that pass through. Which statement about the results of the scattering experiment is…

The notation represents the nucleus of a gold atom: ¹⁹⁷₇₉Au. The relative charge on a proton is +1. What is the relative charge on the gold nucleus? A +79 B +118 C +197 D +276

An isotope of hydrogen has the nuclide notation ²₁H. How many neutrons are in the nucleus of this isotope and what is the relative charge on the nucleus? A neutrons: 1; charge: +1…

A radioactive source is placed near a detector. The radiation arriving is measured for 10 minutes with different materials placed between the source and the detector. material…

The reading on a detector placed near a radioactive material is 536 counts per second. The background count rate is 44 counts per second. The half-life of the radioactive material…

The scattering of particles by a thin gold foil provided scientists with evidence for the nuclear atom. Which particles were scattered by the gold nuclei in the thin foil? A…

A nucleus X has 17 protons and 18 neutrons. Which notation is correct for this nucleus? A ¹⁷₁₈X B ¹⁷₃₅X C ¹⁸₁₇X D ³⁵₁₇X

The dashed line on the graph shows the decay curve recorded from a sample of a radioactive isotope (count rate vs time, including background radiation, levelling off above zero).…

Which type of radioactive source is suitable for use in measuring and controlling the thickness of paper in a paper-manufacturing factory? A type: alpha; half-life: long B type:…

A medical tracer is used to investigate a tumour in a patient. The graph shows the corrected count rate from the tracer against time, halving from about 8000 to 4000 counts/s over…

A nucleus of strontium-90 is represented using nuclide notation as ⁹⁰₃₈Sr. Calculate the number of neutrons in one nucleus of strontium-90.

U-235 and U-238 are isotopes of uranium. Fig. 10.1 shows the nuclide notation for U-235 (²³⁵₉₂U) and U-238 (²³⁸₉₂U). Compare the number of protons in one nucleus of U-235 with the…

The isotope thallium-208 (²⁰⁸₈₁Tl) is radioactive and decays by β-decay to an isotope of lead (Pb). Complete the equation for this decay: ²⁰⁸₈₁Tl → ?Pb + ?β

Radioactive isotopes that emit ionising radiation are used in hospitals. State and explain two safety precautions necessary for the use of these isotopes in medical procedures.

Which diagram represents the structure of a neutral atom? Diagram B shows 2 protons in the nucleus and 2 electrons outside, with no neutrons. A 1 proton, 1 neutron, 1 electron B 2…

The diagram shows five atoms in a radioactive substance. Each atom gives out an α-particle. Atom 1 is the first to give out a particle. Atom 3 is the second to give out a…

The diagram shows a radioactive source, a thick aluminium sheet and a radiation detector. The radiation detector shows a reading greater than the background reading. Which type of…

The half-life of the radioactive isotope caesium ¹³⁷₅₅Cs is 30 years. Starting with 30 g of the isotope, which mass of the isotope remains after 90 years? A 10.0 g B 7.50 g C 3.75…

α-particles are directed at a metal foil. Most of the particles pass through the foil with little change in direction. A small proportion of the particles are scattered back…

Which statement correctly compares the properties of alpha-particles and beta-particles? A Alpha-particles are less penetrating than beta-particles because alpha-particles are…

Which statement about alpha decay is correct? A The nucleus loses electrons. B The nucleus changes to that of a different element. C The nucleus does not decay until after one…

An explosion in a nuclear reactor spreads the isotope caesium-137, ¹³⁷₅₅Cs, across a large area. After 90.0 years have passed, the quantity of caesium-137 present is 12.5% of its…

The nuclide notation for the radioactive isotope carbon-14 is ¹⁴₆C. Using the symbols shown in Fig. 8.1 (electron = ×, neutron = ○, proton = ●), draw a diagram to show the number…

How are positive and negative ions formed from atoms? A positive ion: add positive charge to the nucleus; negative ion: add an electron to the atom B positive ion: add positive…

A nucleus of element X is represented as ⁵⁶₂₆X (nucleon number 56, proton number 26). Which is an isotope of element X? A ²⁶₅₆X B ⁵⁴₂₆X C ⁵⁶₂₄X D ⁵⁴₂₈X

Which statement about the random decay of the nuclei in a sample of uranium-238 is correct? A The probabilities of an alpha-particle, a beta-particle or a gamma ray being emitted…

The count rate due to a sample of a radioactive isotope is measured for 80 minutes. time / minutes count rate / counts per second --- --- 0 480 20 380 40 300 60 240 80 190 What is…

Which diagram represents the positions of the charged particles of an atom? (Positive charge concentrated in a central nucleus, negative electrons outside.) A, B, C, D show…

The table shows the composition of three different nuclei. nucleus number of protons number of neutrons --- --- --- X 3 3 Y 3 4 Z 4 3 Which nuclei are isotopes of the same…

A sample of a radioactive isotope emits 9600 β-particles per second. After 40 hours the rate of emission has fallen to 600 β-particles per second. What is the half-life of this…

Which row states a harmful effect and a beneficial effect of ionising radiation on living things? A harmful: kills cancer cells; beneficial: kills cancer cells B harmful: kills…

How are positive and negative ions formed from atoms? A positive ion: add positive charge to the nucleus; negative ion: add an electron to the atom B positive ion: add positive…

A nucleus of element X is represented as ⁵⁶₂₆X (nucleon number 56, proton number 26). Which is an isotope of element X? A ²⁶₅₆X B ⁵⁴₂₆X C ⁵⁶₂₄X D ⁵⁴₂₈X

A radioactive source is placed near a detector connected to a counter. 210 counts are recorded by the counter in 3 minutes. The background count rate is 20 counts per minute…

The background count rate measured by a radiation counter is 40 counts per minute (cpm). With the counter close to a radioactive source, the counter reading is 960 cpm. The…

Fission and fusion are two types of nuclear process. How does the total mass of the nuclides produced compare with the total mass of the original nuclide or nuclides in these…

The table shows the composition of three different nuclei. nucleus number of protons number of neutrons --- --- --- X 3 3 Y 3 4 Z 4 3 Which nuclei are isotopes of the same…

Which change occurs in the nucleus of a radioactive atom during β-emission? A A neutron transforms into a proton and an electron. B A neutron transforms into a proton only. C A…

A radioactive isotope has a half-life of 8 days. A detector close to a sample of this isotope gives a count rate of 200 counts per minute. Without the source, the background count…

Fig. 11.1 represents all the particles in an atom which is a radioactive isotope of carbon. Table 11.1 gives information about the particles shown in Fig. 11.1. Using the…

Iodine-131 is a radioactive isotope of the element iodine. Fig. 10.1 shows the nuclide notation for a nucleus of iodine-131: ¹³¹₅₃I. Determine the number of protons in one nucleus…

Fig. 9.1 represents all the particles in a neutral atom of a radioactive isotope X1. The diagram shows 5 protons (white dots) and 7 neutrons (grey dots) in the nucleus, plus…

Table 9.1 shows some properties and values for α-particles, β-particles and γ-radiation. Complete Table 9.1. type of radiation number of protons number of neutrons charge / C…

Atom P has 6 electrons, 6 protons and 6 neutrons. Atom Q has 6 electrons, 6 protons and 7 neutrons. Which statement is correct? A Atom P has atomic number 12. B Atom P has nucleon…

α-particles, β-particles and γ-rays are emitted by radioactive nuclei when they decay. Which emissions can be deflected by an electric field? A α-particles, β-particles and γ-rays…

The graph shows the count rate from a radioactive source over a period of time, decreasing from 2000 counts/s and halving over equal time intervals. What is the half-life of the…

A scientist carries out an experiment using a sealed source which emits β-particles. The range of the β-particles in the air is about 30 cm. Which precaution is the most effective…

In α-particle scattering, α-particles are incident on a thin metal foil. Which row describes results from the experiment and a conclusion that the results lead to? A results: most…

α-particles, β-particles and γ-rays are emitted by radioactive nuclei when they decay. Which emissions can be deflected by an electric field? A α-particles, β-particles and γ-rays…

Radioisotope X decays to the stable isotope Y. The graph shows how the mass of Y present in a sample varies with time, rising from 0 towards a maximum M. Times t1, t2, t3 are…

Which particle is absorbed by a nucleus to cause nuclear fission? A a neutron B a proton C an α-particle D a β-particle

A nucleus of an isotope of actinium contains 89 protons and 136 neutrons. The chemical symbol for actinium is Ac. Complete the nuclide notation for this isotope of actinium (in…

Many household smoke alarms contain a sample of the radioactive isotope americium-241 (Am), the isotope of americium with nucleon number 241. State how the composition of a…