Nuclear physics written questions
Practise H1 Physics nuclear equations, decay, half-life and binding-energy questions, with worked solutions for review.
Learning goals
- Interpret nuclear structure, isotopes and Rutherford scattering.
- Describe isotopes as forms of an element with different numbers of neutrons, and write nuclides with nucleon number A and proton number Z before the symbol
- State that one mole contains 6.02 × 10²³ particles and use the Avogadro number, 6.02 × 10²³ mol⁻¹
- Describe nuclear decay as spontaneous and random, and use the term activity
- Analyse random radioactive decay, activity and half-life.
- Define half-life and use it to solve problems, including from tables or decay curves
- Relate binding energy per nucleon to fission, fusion, applications and hazards.
- Write nuclear equations for simple nuclear reactions, such as ¹⁴₇N + ⁴₂He → ¹⁷₈O + ¹₁H
- Apply conservation laws to nuclear equations, including beta decay.
- Use mass-energy equivalence, mass defect and binding energy.
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