MODERN PHYSICS

Use this diagram to answer Question 1 to 3

1. What is the atomic number of this isotope?

a. 131
b. 53
c. 184
d. 78
2. How many protons does this isotope have?
e. 131
a. 53
b. 184
c. 78
3. How many neutrons does this isotope have?
a. 131
b. 53
c. 184
d. 78
4. An alpha particle is made up of
a. 2 protons and 4 neutrons
b. 1 proton and 1 neutron
c. 2 protons and 2 neutrons
d. 4 protons and 2 neutrons
5. Which type of nuclear radiation can be stopped by a sheet of paper?
a. Alpha
b. Beta
c. Gamma
6. Which type of nuclear radiation can be stopped 60 cm of aluminum or 7 cm of
lead?
a. Alpha
b. Beta
c. Gamma
7. When a substance undergoes beta decay
a. The atomic number increases by 1
b. The atomic number decreases by 2
c. The atomic number does not change
8. A radioactive shoe is wrapped in 3mm of aluminum foil but radiation is still
detected. What must be true?
a. The shoe emits alpha radiation
b. The shoe emits beta radiation
c. The shoe emits gamma radiation
9. Which type of nuclear decay did Radon-198 go through?

C2 General
 a. alpha decay
b. beta decay
c. gamma decay
10. What will the values of x and y be?

a. x=194, y =83
b. x=194, y =84
c. x=194, y =85
d. I don't know. I should probably study this stuff more before the test.
11. A sample of Radium-228 decays from 100g to 12.5g. How many half lives did it
experience?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
12. How much of a 250g sample would be left after 5 half lives?
a. 125g
b. 62.5g
c. 31.25g
d. 7.81g
13. If the half life of Uranium-240 was 10 years, how long would it take for it to decay
from 310g to 80g?
a. 10 years
b. 240 years
c. 20 years
d. 30 years
14. This image shows

a. nuclear fission
b. nuclear fusion
15. An element with a mass number of 11 and an atomic number of 5 has how
many neutrons?
a. 11
b. 5
c. 6
d. 16
16. A radioactive nuclide has a ____ stable nucleus than a non-radioactive nucleus of
the same element.

C2 General
 more
a. less
b. identical
c. small
17. What makes something radioactive?
a. elements with an atomic number above 81
b. an unstable nucleus
c. contaminated sewage
d. It decays over time
18. _______________ is the process by which unstable atoms emit radiation
until they become stable.
a. Radiation
b. Chemical Reaction
c. Radioactive Decay
d. Isotopes
19. In order of most to least penetrating radiation we have
a. Alpha , Beta, Gamma
b. Beta , Gamma , Alpha
c. Gamma, Beta, Alpha
d. Gamma, Alpha, Beta
20. Negatively charged particles emitted from a nucleus at a high speed
are ____ .
a. protons
b. neutrons
c. electrons
d. protons and neutrons
21. Which type of radiation releases an electron?
a. Alpha radiation
b. Beta radiation
c. Gamma radiation
d. Theta radiation
22. What particle is released when an unstable isotope undergoes alpha
radiation?
a. a helium nucleus
b. an electron
c. a photon of light
d. a neutron
23. Which type(s) of radiation would be affected by a magnet?
a. alpha only
b. beta only
c. alpha and beta
d. gamma only
24. Which type of radioactive decay is occurring in this equation?

C2 General
 a. Alpha decay
a. beta decay
b. gamma decay
c. positron emission
25. Where does radioactivity have application in our lives?
a. Medicine
b. Energy (electricity)
c. Agriculture
d. All of the above
26. The rate at which a radioactive element decays is its ____.
a. quarter life
b. whole life
c. wonderful life
d. half life
27. Energy in the sun is produced as a result of nuclear ____ reactions.
a. fusion
b. fission
c. waste
d. sub
28. Neutrons released in a fission reaction can strike other nuclei and cause a
a. meltdown
b. take down
c. break down
d. chain reaction
29. The three types of nuclear radiation in order of decreasing penetrating power are
a. alpha, beta, gamma
b. alpha, gamma, beta
c. beta, alpha, gamma
d. gamma, alpha, beta
30. The process by which nuclei having small masses are united to form a
single larger nucleus is called nuclear ____.
a. fusion
b. fission
c. reactivity
d. waste
31. If the half life of a radioactive element is 100yrs, how long would it take for
the radioactivity to reduce by one half?
a. 200yrs
b. 100yrs
c. 50yrs
d. 300yrs
32. What is nuclear fission?

C2 General
 a. Big nucleus splits to small nuclei
b. Small nuclei fuse into a bigger nucleus
c. Stars
d. Making compounds
33. How do nuclear power-plants work?
a. Fusion
b. Half-life
c. Fission
d. Fusion or fission
34. A certain radioactive sample has a half life of 2 years. After 6 years, how
much of the sample is left?
a. 1/2
b. 1/3
c. 1/16
d. 1/8
35. When nuclei decay, massive amounts of __________ is released.
a. energy
b. electrons
c. protons
d. neutrons
36. What is Half-life?
a. The amount of time it takes for some of the nuclei in a sample of the isotope
to decay
b. The amount of time it takes for half the electrons in a sample of the isotope to
decay
c. The amount of time it takes for half the nuclei in a sample of the isotope to
decay
d. the amount of time it takes to double the nuclei in a sample of the isotope to
decay
37. What type of decay is shown here 23892U ---> 23490Th + 42He.
a. alpha
b. beta
c. gamma
38. After 4 half-lives, 1g of a sample of Krypton-85 remains unchanged. What
was the original mass of the sample?
a. 16g
b. 32g
c. 0.0625g
d. 4g
39. Identify the type of nuclear decay shown here
214 Bi → 0 e + 214 Po
83 -1 84
a. alpha
b. beta
c. gamma
40. When a nucleus undergoes nuclear decay by gamma rays, the atomic
number of the element....
a. remains the same
b. decreases by one.
c. increases by one.
d. increases by two.

C2 General
 41. The half-life of strontium-90 is 25 years. How much strontium-90 will remain
after 100 years if the initial amount is 4.0 g?
a. 3.0g
b. 0.25mg
c. 0.3g
d. 0.25g
42. The type of radioactive particle that can be stopped by a sheet of paper is
the ____.
a. alpha particle
b. beta particle
c. gamma ray
d. uranium
43. Finish this equation 20983Bi--> _______ + 20581Tl
a. 42He
b. 0-1e
c. y
44. The most dangerous type of radiation is the ____.
a. alpha particle
b. gamma ray
c. beta particle
d. uranium
45. Solve this equation for alpha decay. 85209At = ___ + 24He
a. 83205Bi
a. 86209Rn
b. 81207Tl
c. 85208At
46. In the symbol 20682Pb what does 206 stand for?
a. Mass number
b. Atomic number
c. Atomic mass
d. Number of protons
47. Solve this equation for beta decay. 2760Co = ___ + -10e
a. 2556Mn
b. 2860Ni
c. 2358V
d. 2759Co
48. What are X - Rays not used for?
a. Scanning Luggage
b. Broken Bones
c. Checking to see if your shoelaces are untied
d. Checking for cavities
49. What disease can an X - Ray cause?
a. Dyslexia
b. Cancer
c. Diabetes
d. Polio
50. X - Rays use ___________ radiation
a. Cosmic
b. Electromagnetic
c. Neutron

C2 General
 d. Alpha
51. Which electromagnetic waves are used in ovens and cell phone
communications?
a. Infrared rays
b. ultraviolet rays
c. microwaves
52. For which of the following problems would a scientist most likely use
carbon-14?
a. to calculate the age of the Earth's oldest rocks
b. to calculate the age of a piece of bone
c. to identify the elements that make up a rock
d. to identify the elements that make up a bone
53. Which of these is a use of alpha radiation?
a. Sterilising food
b. Smoke detectors
c. Monitoring paper thickness
d. Industrial tracers
54. Where does radioactivity have application in our lives?
a. Medicine
b. Energy (electricity)
c. Agriculture
d. All of the above
55. Radioactive dating uses the half-life of different radioactive materials to provide
information about the _______ of a sample.
a. purity
b. age
c. radioactivity
d. nuclear stability
56. How is radiation used to treat cancer?
a. Radiation is used to stimulate the growth of cancer cells
b. Cancer cells are bombarded with radiation and become inactive
c. Cancer cells are burned up by radiation
d. Radiation melts cancer cells
57. Radioactivity can be harmful and cause disease because it affects _________.
e. air
f. water
g. cells
h. blood
58. Suggest way that a scientist can protect themselves against exposure when
handling radioactive sources.
a. Storing sources in a lead–lined box using tongs
b. Goggles and gloves
c. Tie hair back
59. Which of these is a use of beta radiation?
a. Sterilising food
b. Smoke detectors
c. Monitoring metal sheet thickness
60. What is the penetrating rays and particles emitted by a radioactive source?
a. Radiation
b. Radioactivity

C2 General
 c. Radioisotopes
61. Through relative dating, a geologist finds a fossil that is approximately 10,000
years old. Which radioactive element would geologist use to accurately calculate
the fossils age?
a. Gallium 67 with a half life of 78 hours
b. Carbon-14 with a half-life of 5,700 years
c. Plutonium-238 with a half-life of 88 years
d. Iodine-129 with a half-life of 16 million years
62. Which characteristic of Carbon-14 dating helps scientist determine the
approximate time a species became extinct.
a. Carbon-14 is not present in more recent fossils.
b. Carbon-14 increases at a constant rate over time
c. Carbon-14 decreases at a constant rate over time
d. Carbon-14 is not present in fossils
63. Optical fibre based on the principle of
a. total internal reflection.
b. total internal refraction.
c. diffraction.
d. interference.
64. The core of the optical fibre is
a. opaque and conducting material.
b. opaque and dielectric material.
c. transparent and conducting material.
d. transparent and dielectric material.
65. Which part is not included in the fiber-optic communication system?
a. Transmitter
b. Transmission channel
c. Transformer
d. Receiver
66. How do Fiber Optics work?
a. By connecting and transferring energy
b. By remitting and subtracting power from other fiber optics
c. By using light pulses to transfer data
d. By converting sound waves in to binary code
67. Which type of radiation is the most ionising?
a. alpha
b. beta
c. gamma
68. Which type of radiation is the least ionising?
a. alpha
b. beta
c. gamma
69. What type of radiation can be stopped by a approximately 5 cm of air?
a. Alpha radiation
b. Beta radiation
c. gamma radiation
70. What type of radiation can be stopped by a approximately 1 m of air?
a. Alpha radiation
b. Beta radiation
c. gamma radiation
71. What type of radiation can be stopped by a 5 mm piece of aluminium?

C2 General
 a. Alpha radiation
b. Beta radiation
c. gamma radiation
72. Which of these is not a method for safely handling radioactive materials?
a. Pointing it away from yourself and others
b. Spending as little time as possible with the radiation
c. Picking it up using your hands
d. Storing in a lead lined container
73. When does radioactive decay occur?
a. When the nucleus of an isotope is unstable
b. When the nucleus of an isotope is stable
c. When the electrons of an isotope are spinning
d. When the electrons of an isotope are shared with another isotope
74. What is ionization energy?
a. Energy needed to destroy an atom
b. Energy required to remove an electron
c. Energy needed to split an electron
d. Energy required to add an electron
75. What is non-ionizing radiation?
a. anything that strips away electrons from atoms
b. radio & x-rays
c. visible light
d. anything that can potentially harm living cells

KEYS

ABDCA CACAC CDCAC ABCCC BACBD DADAA

BACDA CAABA DAABA ABCBB CBBDB BC ACA

BCADC CACAB BCABC

C2 General