Practice MCQs For Radioactivity and the nuclear atom

This quiz contains practice questions for GCE ‘O’ level topic: Radioactivity and the nuclear atom. There are explanations for some of the questions after you submit the quiz. If you could not figure out why a particular option is the answer, feel free to drop a comment below or ask a question in ‘O’ & ‘A’ Level Discussion section of the forum. If you wish to contribute questions to this quiz, please contact us.

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1. The half-life of radioactive carbon is 5600 years. What will be the time after which the activity has reduced to one-quarter?

11200 years

8400 years

1400 years

2800 years

2. The table shows the possible properties of radioactive emissions.

Which emission could be a beta-particle?

D

A

C

B

3. Atoms P and Q are isotopes. How does the composition of neutral atom P compare with neutral atom Q?

B

C

D

A

4. A detector is used to measure the count-rate near a radioactive source. The reading is 4000 counts per minute. After 30 minutes, the count-rate has fallen to 500 counts per minute.

What is the half-life of the radioactive source? You may ignore the effects of background radiation.

6 minutes

10 minutes

3 minutes

5 minutes

5. Which conclusion can be drawn from the Geiger-Marsden alpha-particle scattering experiment?

Electrons are negatively charged.

Electrons are arranged in orbits.

There is a dense nucleus in the atom.

A positive charge is spread throughout the atom.

6. A radioactive source has a half-life of 24 hours. At 1:00 am, it has an activity of 1000 counts per minute. At 1:00 pm on the same day, what is its most likely activity?

600 counts per minute

700 counts per minute

900 counts per minute

800 counts per minute

7. The half-life of a radioactive material is 24 years.

The activity of a sample falls to a fraction of its initial value after 72 years.

What is the fraction?

$\frac{1}{6}$

$\frac{1}{8}$

$\frac{1}{4}$

$\frac{1}{3}$

8. X, Y and Z are three types of radiation.

X is almost completed absorbed by 5 cm lead but not by 5 mm aluminium.

Y is almost completely absorbed by 5 mm aluminium but not by thin card.

Z is absorbed by thin card.

What are X, Y and Z?

X: Gamma Rays, Y: Alpha Particle, Z: Beta Particle

X: Beta particle, Y: Alpha Particle, Z: Gamma Rays

X: Alpha particle, Y: Beta Particle, Z: Gamma Rays

X: Gamma Rays, Y: Beta Particle, Z: Alpha Particle

9. A pupil investigates the penetrating power of radiation from a radioactive source.

The table shows her results.

The source emits

beta-particles and gamma-rays.

beta-particles only.

alpha and beta-particles.

gamma-rays only.

10. A nuclide of the element plutonium is $^{242}_{94} \text{Pu}$.

What is the number of neutrons in its nucleus?

242

148

336

94

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