Multiple Choice Questions On Nuclear Chemistry - Part 1

1. Which is the correct symbol for an alpha particle?

(a) ⁴He₂

(b) ¹n₀

(c) ⁰e_-1

(d) ¹p₁

Answer. (a)

2. Of the following, which is the most damaging when ingested?

(a) beta emitters

(b) alpha emitters

(c) gamma emitters

(d) all of these

Answer. (b)

3. An alpha particle is _______

(a) an electron

(b) one neutron and one proton

(c) two protons and two neutrons

(d) an X-ray emission

Answer. (c)

4. By what type of decay process might ²¹⁴Pb convert to ²¹⁴Bi?

(a) beta decay

(b) alpha decay

(c) gamma decay

(d) electron capture

Answer. (a)

5. The curie is a measure of the _______

(a) lethal threshold for radiation exposure

(b) number of alpha particles emitted by exactly 1 g of a radioactive substance

(c) number of disintegrations per second of a radioactive substance

(d) total energy absorbed by an object exposed to a radioactive source

Answer. (c)

6. Of the following processes, which one does not change the atomic number?

(a) gamma emission

(b) alpha emission

(c) positron emission

(d) beta emission

Answer. (a)

7. Which of these nuclides is most likely to be radioactive?

(a) ³⁹K₁₉

(b) ²⁷Al₁₃

(c) ¹²⁷I₅₃

(d) ²⁴³Am₉₅

Answer. (d)

8. The beta particle consists of _______

(a) high-energy rays

(b) 1 neutron

(c) 2 neutrons and 2 protons

(d) 1 electron

Answer. (d)

9. Lab coats and gloves provide shielding from _______

(a) alpha radiation

(b) alpha and beta radiation

(c) alpha, beta, and gamma radiation

(d) gamma radiation

Answer. (b)

10. When an alpha particle is released in nuclear decay, the mass number of the nucleus undergoing decay _______

(a) stays the same

(b) increases by 4

(c) decreases by 4

(d) decreases by 2

Answer. (c)

11. Which one of the following processes could not result in the conversion of strontium to rubidium?

(a) gamma emission

(b) proton emission

(c) electron capture

(d) positron emission

Answer. (a)

12. Alpha decay of ²²⁶Ra will yield which of the following nuclides?

(a) ²²²Rn

(b) ²³⁰Th

(c) ²²²Fr

(d) ²²²Th

Answer. (a)

13. In a Geiger-Müller counter, one “count” is directly due to _______

(a) a secondary electron

(b) a primary electron

(c) many electrons and ions

(d) a beta particle

Answer. (c)

14. ⁸Li₃ decays to ⁸Be₄. What type of decay is this?

(a) positron emission

(b) beta

(c) γ-ray

(d) alpha

Answer. (b)

15. _______ rays consist of He nuclei, while _______ rays are electromagnetic radiation.

 (a) beta, alpha

(b) alpha, beta

(c) alpha, gamma

(d) gamma, beta

Answer. (c)

16. Which type of radioactive decay results in an increase in atomic number?

(a) positron emission

(b) alpha emission

(c) gamma emission

(d) beta emission

Answer. (d)

17. When ²⁴⁹Cf is bombarded with 10B, ²⁵⁷Lr is formed. What other particle(s) is/are produced?

(a) ⁻¹e₀

(b) ¹n₀

(c) ⁰e₁

(d) ¹p₁

Answer. (b)

18. Which combination of the number of protons and the number of neutrons is most common among the  _______ naturally occurring non-radioactive nuclides?

(a) even protons; even neutrons

(b) odd protons; even neutrons

(c) even protons; odd neutrons

(d) odd protons; odd neutrons

Answer. (a)

19. Which form of radioactivity is most penetrating?

(a) alpha particles

(b) beta particles

(c) neutrons

(d) gamma rays

Answer. (d)

20. In electron capture, _______

(a) gamma rays are emitted

(b) a neutron is formed

(c) a positron is formed

(d) an alpha particle is emitted

Answer. (b)

21. The spontaneous transformation of one nuclide into others occurs only if _______

(a) the process is endothermic

(b) the process results in a neutron/proton ratio of 1:0 in the products

(c) sufficient energy can be absorbed from the surroundings to drive the process

(d) the combined mass of the products is less than the mass of the original nuclide

Answer. (d)

22. What particle is released when Ga-75 decays to Ge-75?

(a) neutron

(b) beta

(c) gamma

(d) alpha

Answer. (b)

23. What particle is missing in the following bombardment reaction? Al²⁷ + ? = ¹n + P³⁰

(a) neutron

(b) beta

(c) proton

(d) alpha

Answer. (d)

24. What would be the immediate product of neutron absorption by ¹⁰⁷Ag?

(a) ¹⁰⁷Pd

(b) ¹⁰⁹In

(c) ¹⁰⁸Cd

(d) ¹⁰⁸Ag

Answer. (d)

25. When a nuclide undergoes beta decay, _______

(a) the atomic number remains unchanged and the mass number increases by one

(b) the mass number remains unchanged and the atomic number decreases by one

(c) the mass number remains unchanged and the atomic number increases by one

(d) the atomic number remains unchanged and the mass number decreases by one

Answer. (c)

26. The half-life of ³²P, which is used as a label on red blood cells to determine blood volume, is 14.3 days. How many days are required for the activity of a sample of ³²P to drop to 5.00% of its initial level?

(a) 26.8 days

(b) 42.8 days

(c) 61.8 days

(d) 0.209 days

Answer. (c)

27. The half-life of Sulfur-35 is 88 days. If 8.0 g of Sulfur-35 exists on day one, what fraction will remain after 264 days?

(a) 0.5 g

(b) 4.0 g

(c) 0 g

(d) 1.0 g

Answer. (d)

28. When Xenon-123 emits a gamma ray, what is the product?

(a) ¹²³Xe ₅₄

(b) ¹²³I₅₃

(c) ¹¹⁹Te₅₂

(d) ¹²³Cs₅₅

Answer. (a)

29. The cloth shroud from around a mummy is found to have a ¹⁴C activity of 8.9 disintegrations per minute per gram of carbon as compared with living organisms that undergo15.2 disintegrations per minute per gram of carbon. From the half-life for ¹⁴C decay, 5.73 × 10³ yr, calculate the age of the shroud.

(a) 9.3 × 10–5 yr

(b) 4.4 × 103 yr

(c) 6.5 × 10–5 yr

(d) 1.92 × 103 yr

Answer. (b)

30. ¹⁹⁸Au has a half-life of 2.70 days. Assuming you start with a 10.0 mg sample of ¹⁹⁸Au, how much will remain after 10.0 days?

(a) 0.246 mg

(b) 130 mg

(c) 0.768 mg

(d) 9.44 mg

Answer. (c)

31. The half-life for the beta decay of ²³³Pa is 27.4 days. How many days must pass to reduce a 5.00 g sample of ²³³Pa to 0.625 g?

(a) 109.6 days

(b) 54.8 days

(c) 82.2 days

(d) 27.4 days

Answer. (c)

32. The half-life of tritium (Hydrogen-3) is 12.3 yr. If 48.0 mg of tritium is released from a nuclear power plant during the course of an accident, what mass of this nuclide will remain after 49.2 yr?

(a) 6.0 mg

(b) 3.0 mg

(c) 24.0 mg

(d) 12.0 mg

Answer. (b)

33. How old is a fossil bone whose ¹⁴C content is 15.0 percent that of living bone?

(a) 25400 yr

(b) 15600 yr

(c) 380 yr

(d) 6810 yr

Answer. (b)

34. Iodine-131 has a half-life of 8 days. How many grams of I-131 in a 4.0 g sample remain after 24 days?

(a) 2.0 g

(b) 1.0 g

 (c) 0.50 g

(d) 0.0 g

Answer. (c)

35. The half-life of ⁴⁵Ca is 165 days. After 1.0 year, what percentage of the original sample of ⁴⁵Ca remains?

(a) 10.9 percent

 (b) 99.6 percent

(c) 2.16 percent

(d) 21.6 percent

Answer. (d)

36. What particle is produced when Phosphorus-29 decays to silicon-29?

(a) positron

(b) beta

(c) gamma

(d) alpha

Answer. (a)

37. The bombardment of which isotope by a neutron produces ¹⁹⁸Au and proton?

(a) ¹⁹⁹Tl₈₁

(b) ¹⁹⁷Hg₈₀

(c) ¹⁹⁸Hg₈₀

(d) ¹⁹⁷Pt₇₈

Answer. (c)

38. Complete and balance the following nuclear equation by selecting the missing particle

²⁴Mg₁₂ + ²H₁ → ⁴He₂ + ?

(a) ²²Al₁₃

(b) ²²Na₁₁

(c) ²⁶Al₁₃

(d) ²⁰Ne₁₀

Answer. (b)

39. What is the product of beta decay of  ¹⁵⁹Gd₆₄ ?

(a) ¹⁵⁹Tb₆₅

(b) ¹⁵⁹Eu₆₃

(c) ¹⁵⁹Gd₆₄

(d) ¹⁵⁵Sm₆₂

Answer. (a)

40. Which of the following is the nuclear equation for bismuth-214 undergoing beta decay?

(a) ²¹⁴Bi₈₃  → ⁰e₁  +  ²¹⁴Po₈₄

(b) ²¹⁴Bi₈₃  → ⁰e₁  +  ²¹⁴Pb₈₂

(c) ²¹⁴Bi₈₃  → ⁰e₁  +  ²¹⁴Po₈₄

(d) ²¹⁴Bi₈₃  → ⁰e₁  +  ²¹⁴Po₈₄

Answer. (a)

Reference: Essentials of Physical Chemistry /Arun Bahl, B.S Bahl and G.D. Tuli / multicolour edition.