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.

The quiz comprises of 10 questions, which are randomly selected from a large pool of questions. After completion, you can refresh the page and try the quiz again for a new set of 10 questions.

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1. Between 1909 and 1911, Geiger and Marsden carried out experiments in which alpha particles were fired at metal foil. Most of the alpha particles passed through the foil with small deflections, but some were deflected through a large angle.

These results suggest that:
2. Three nuclei P, Q and R have proton numbers (atomic numbers) and nucleon numbers (mass numbers) as shown.

P:
  • Proton number: 43
  • Nucleon number: 93
Q:
  • Proton number: 43
  • Nucleon number: 94
R:
  • Proton number: 44
  • Nucleon number: 94
 

Which nuclei are isotopes of the same element?
3. Deuterium $^{2}_{1}\text{H}$ and tritium $^{3}_{1} \text{H}$ are two isotopes of hydrogen.

Compared to a deuterium atom, how many protons and neutrons does a tritium atom have?
ProtonsNeutrons
AMoreMore
BMoreSame
CSameMore
DSameSame
4. A nucleus is represented by $^{230}_{91} \text{Z}$. It emits one alpha-particle and then one beta-particle. What is the resulting nucleus X?
5. A nucleus consists of 90 protons and 144 neutrons.

After emitting two beta-particles followed by an alpha-particle, this nucleus has:
6. 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.
7. Which row gives the range and electrical charge of an alpha-particle?
Range In AirElectrical Charge
AA few centimetresNegative
BA few centimetresPositive
CA few metresNegative
DA few metresPositive
8. In a fission reactor, which particle causes a Uranium-235 nucleus to split?
9. An experimenter sets up the following apparatus, in air, to discover whether a radioactive source is emitting alpha-particles.

count rateThe experimenter moves the paper between the source and the detector. There is no difference in the count-rate.

Why is this?
10. Which of the following affects the activity level of a radioactive source?

 

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