Name: 
 

per 4 Chemistry 19 Prep Test - Nuclear Processes



Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 
 
nar001-1.jpg
 

 1. 

Which of the illustrations above represents a fission reaction?
a.
A
c.
C
b.
B
d.
D
 

 2. 

Which of the following is a fusion reaction?
a.
uranium-235 absorbing a neutron and splitting into xenon-140, strontium-94, and two neutrons
b.
hydrochloric acid combining with sodium hydroxide to form NaCl and water
c.
carbon-14 decaying into nitrogen-14 and a beta particle
d.
curium-246 combining with carbon-12 to form nobelium-254 and four neutrons
 

 3. 

The energy released in a nuclear reaction comes from
a.
electrons.
c.
positrons.
b.
bonds.
d.
the binding energy of the nucleus.
 

 4. 

Particles or electromagnetic radiation emitted from the nucleus during radioactive decay
a.
is harmless nuclear fallout.
c.
is transmutation.
b.
is nuclear radiation.
d.
are daughter nuclides.
 

 5. 

Which of the following processes always decreases the number of protons by an even number?
a.
fusion
c.
alpha decay
b.
beta decay
d.
fission
 

 6. 

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
 

 7. 

What is the half-life of an isotope if 125 g of a 500 g sample of the isotope remains after 3.0 years?
a.
1.5 years
c.
3.5 years
b.
2.5 years
d.
4.5 years
 

 8. 

Which series consists of radioactive nuclides produced by successive radioactive decay until a stable nuclide is reached?
a.
parent series
c.
nuclide series
b.
half-life series
d.
decay series
 

 9. 

Which of the following has the weakest penetration abilty?
a.
alpha particles
c.
gamma rays
b.
beta particles
d.
All have the same penetrating ability.
 

 10. 

Which of the following has the greatest penetrating ability?
a.
alpha particles
c.
gamma rays
b.
beta particles
d.
All have the same penetrating ability.
 

 11. 

Which of the following is the purpose of a Geiger counter?
a.
illustrate a decay series
c.
record stokres on the golf course
b.
record half lives
d.
detect radiation
 

 12. 

Which of the following is a fission reaction?
a.
hydrogen-2 and hydrogen-3 combining to form a helium-4 atom and a neutron
b.
carbon-12 and hydrogen-1 combining to form a nitrogen-13 atom
c.
uranium-235 absorbing a neutron and breaking into barium-141, krypton-92, and three neutrons
d.
a glucose molecule being metabolized with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water
 

 13. 

An unstable nucleus ____.
a.
increases its nuclear mass by fission
c.
emits energy when it decays
b.
increases its half-life
d.
expels all of its protons
 

 14. 

What particle is emitted in alpha radiation?
a.
electron
c.
helium nucleus
b.
photon
d.
hydrogen nucleus
 

 15. 

What is the change in the atomic number when an atom emits an alpha particle?
a.
decreases by 2
c.
increases by 1
b.
decreases by 1
d.
increases by 2
 

 16. 

What is the change in atomic number when an atom emits a beta particle?
a.
decreases by 2
c.
increases by 2
b.
decreases by 1
d.
increases by 1
 

 17. 

Which symbol is used for an alpha particle?
a.
mc017-1.jpgHe
c.
mc017-3.jpgHe
b.
mc017-2.jpgHe
d.
mc017-4.jpgHe
 

 18. 

What symbol is used for beta radiation?
a.
mc018-1.jpge
c.
mc018-3.jpge
b.
mc018-2.jpge
d.
mc018-4.jpge
 

 19. 

What particle is needed to complete this nuclear reaction?
mc019-1.jpgRn mc019-2.jpg mc019-3.jpgPo + _____
a.
mc019-4.jpgHe
c.
mc019-6.jpgH
b.
mc019-5.jpge
d.
mc019-7.jpgn
 

 20. 

When radium-226 (atomic number 88) decays by emitting an alpha particle, it becomes ____.
a.
polonium-222
c.
radium-222
b.
polonium-224
d.
radon-222
 

 21. 

What particle does argon-39 (atomic number 18) emit when it decays to potassium-39 (atomic number 19)?
a.
neutron
c.
gamma rays
b.
beta particle
d.
alpha particle
 

 22. 

What particle is needed to complete the following nuclear equation?
mc022-1.jpgMn mc022-2.jpg ____ + mc022-3.jpge
a.
mc022-4.jpgCo
c.
mc022-6.jpgFe
b.
mc022-5.jpgMn
d.
mc022-7.jpgCr
 

 23. 

What particle is needed to complete the following equation?
mc023-1.jpgN + ____ mc023-2.jpg mc023-3.jpgC + mc023-4.jpgH
a.
mc023-5.jpgn
c.
mc023-7.jpgHe
b.
mc023-6.jpge
d.
mc023-8.jpge
 

 24. 

To what element does polonium-208 (atomic number 84) decay when it emits an alpha particle?
a.
mc024-1.jpgPb
c.
mc024-3.jpgPb
b.
mc024-2.jpgPo
d.
mc024-4.jpgRn
 

 25. 

Which of the following is the parent nuclide?
mc025-1.jpg
a.
mc025-2.jpg
c.
mc025-4.jpg
b.
mc025-3.jpg
d.
mc025-5.jpg
 

 26. 

Which of the following is the daughter nucleus?
mc026-1.jpg
a.
mc026-2.jpg
c.
mc026-4.jpg
b.
mc026-3.jpg
d.
mc026-5.jpg
 

 27. 

The half-life of radon-222 is about four days. What percent of a sample would you expect to find after 12 days?
a.
50
c.
12.5
b.
25
d.
6.25
 

 28. 

If the half-life of sodium-24 is 15 hours, how much remains from a 10.0-g sample after 60 hours?
a.
0.625g
c.
0.313g
b.
2.50g
d.
1.25g
 
 
nar002-1.jpg
 

 29. 

Consider the diagram above. Which letter best represents the penetrating ability of beta particles?
a.
A
c.
C
b.
B
d.
none are correct
 
 
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon (14C), a radioactive isotope of carbon.

The method was developed by Willard Libby in the late 1940s and soon became a standard tool for archaeologists. Libby received the Nobel Prize for his work in 1960. The radiocarbon dating method is based on the fact that radiocarbon is constantly being created in the atmosphere by the interaction of cosmic rays with atmospheric nitrogen. The resulting radiocarbon combines with atmospheric oxygen to form radioactive carbon dioxide, which is incorporated into plants by photosynthesis; animals then acquire 14C by eating the plants. When the animal or plant dies, it stops exchanging carbon with its environment, and from that point onwards the amount of 14C it contains begins to decrease as the  14C undergoes radioactive decay.

Measuring the amount of 14C in a sample from a dead plant or animal such as a piece of wood or a fragment of bone provides information that can be used to calculate when the animal or plant died. The older a sample is, the less 14C there is to be detected, and because the half-life of 14C (the period of time after which half of a given sample will have decayed) is about 5,730 years, the oldest dates that can be reliably measured by radiocarbon dating are around 50,000 years ago, although special preparation methods occasionally permit dating of older samples.
 

 30. 

Use the above reading to help answer this question.

Nitrogen-14 is the daughter that is produced during the decay of Carbon-14, what type of particle is also emitted?
a.
Alpha
c.
Gamma
b.
Beta
d.
Neutron
 

 31. 

Use the above reading to help answer this question.

A mastedon tusk was found near Great Oak High School.  The carbon-14 content was found to be 1/4 of the suspected original amount.  Approximately how old is the tusk?
a.
12,000 yrs old
c.
6,000 yrs old
b.
24,000 yrs old
d.
Younger than Mr. Noble
 
 
nar004-1.jpg
 

 32. 

An archaelogist finds a sample she suspects is 30,000 years old.  Using the above table, what type of radioactive isotope should she use to accurately determine the age of the sample?
a.
U-235
c.
Th-232
b.
C-14
d.
K-40
 

Matching
 
 
Match each item with the correct statement below.
a.
positron
c.
beta particle
b.
alpha particle
d.
gamma radiation
 

 33. 

particle of charge +1 and mass equal to that of an electron
 

 34. 

emitted helium nucleus
 

 35. 

negatively charged radioactive particle.
 

 36. 

high-energy photons emitted by a radioisotope
 
 
Match each item with the correct statement below.
a.
fission
c.
Geiger counter
b.
fusion
d.
radioisotope
 

 37. 

element with unstable nucleus
 

 38. 

combination of two nuclei to form a nucleus of greater mass
 

 39. 

radiation detector that makes use of a gas-filled metal tube
 

 40. 

splitting of nucleus into smaller fragments
 



 
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