AS Cambridge (CIE) Physics 35 mins 35 questions

Multiple Choice Questions

Atoms, Nuclei &

Radiation
Alpha-particle Scattering Experiment / Atomic Structure / Nucleon & Proton
Number / Alpha, Beta & Gamma Particles / Decay Equations

Easy (15 questions) /15 Scan here to return to the course

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Medium (15 questions) /15

Hard (5 questions) /5

Total Marks /35

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Easy Questions
1 A Geiger-muller tube held at a distance of about 12 cm from a radioactive source. The
radiation emitted from the nuclear isotope was entirely stopped by a 2 mm thick sheet of
lead.

Which of the statements can be deduced from the above information about the emission
from the isotope?

A. it could be alpha, beta and gamma radiation

B. it could be beta and gamma radiation, but not alpha radiation
C. it could be alpha and gamma radiation, but not beta radiation
D. it could be alpha and beta radiation, but not gamma radiation
(1 mark)

2 When β− particles are emitted from identical nuclei in a substance, which of the following
remain constant?

A. proton number of the nuclei

B. nucleon number of the nuclei
C. neutron number of the nuclei
D. energy of the β-particles
(1 mark)

3 When aluminium 27 Al was bombarded with α-particles the first radioactive substance
13
was made. The product of this reaction was an unstable isotope of phosphorus, 30 P .
15

Which of the following is a by-product of this reaction?

A. a neutron
B. a γ-ray
C. a β-particle
D. an α-particle

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 (1 mark)

4 The atom 133 Cs is a neutral atom

55

How many protons, neutrons and electrons are in this atom?

Protons Neutrons Electrons

A 133 55 133

B 55 78 55

C 78 55 78

D 55 133 55

(1 mark)

5 The following statements are about α-particles.

Which is correct?

A. α-particles emitted from a single radioactive isotope have a continuous distribution

of energies

B. α-particles have less ionising power than β-particles

C. the speeds of α-particles can be as high as 1.5 × 107 m s–1
D. the charge of an α-particle is +1.60 × 10–19 C
(1 mark)

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6 Which of the following statements about the nucleus of the atom is correct?

A. nucleon numbers are unchanged by the emission of β-particles

B. in some nuclear processes, mass-energy is not conserved
C. for some nuclei, the nucleon number can be less than the proton number
D. different isotopic nuclei have different proton numbers
(1 mark)

7 When an α-particle is produced by 258 U it produces a new atom X.

92

What are the values of the proton number and nucleon number for atom X?

Protons Nucleons

A 92 256

B 90 254

C 92 250

D 88 254

(1 mark)

8 A nucleus Q decays into a nucleus R by emitting an alpha particle followed by two beta
particles.

Which statement about this nuclear decay is correct?

A. nucleus R is an isotope of nucleus Q

B. nucleus R has the same nucleon number as nucleus Q
C. beta particle decay occurs when a proton changes into a neutron
D. the total mass of the products is equal to the mass of the initial nucleus Q
(1 mark)

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 9 Four nuclei are represented below

24 Q 28 E 25 G 25 M
13 14 15 12

Which of the following statements about these nuclei is correct?

A. an uncharged atom of element Q has 24 orbital electrons

B. when E absorbs a neutron and then emits an alpha particle, nucleus E transforms
into M

C. nuclei G and M are isotopes of the same element

D. nucleus M could transform into Q by emitting a beta particle
(1 mark)

10 Plutonium-239 ( 239 Pu ) decays by emitting α-radiation.

94

Which nuclide is formed from one of these decay reactions? (The product nuclides are
represented by X.)

A. 239 X
95

B. 237 X
92

C. 239 X
93

D. 235 X
92
(1 mark)

11 One of the rows in the table shows a pair of nuclei that are isotopes of one another.

Which row is it?

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 Nucleon number Number of neutrons

A 186 112

180 118

B 184 110

187 110

C 186 112

182 108

D 186 110

186 112

(1 mark)

12 Which statement about alpha, beta and gamma radiation is correct?

A. gamma radiation has the greatest ionising power

B. beta radiation has the greatest ionising power
C. alpha radiation has the greatest ionising power
D. alpha, beta and gamma radiation have nearly equal ionising powers
(1 mark)

13 Alpha, beta and gamma radiations have various depths of penetration in matter and
different charges.

Which row in the table best shows the penetration and charge of each radiation?

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 Alpha Beta Gamma

A absorbed by a sheet of absorbed by several mm not fully absorbed by

card of aluminium several mm of lead

negative charge no charge no charge

B absorbed by several mm not fully absorbed by absorbed by a sheet of

of aluminium several mm of lead card

positive charge negative charge no charge

C absorbed by a sheet of absorbed by several mm not fully absorbed by

card of aluminium several mm

negative charge positive charge of lead

no charge

D absorbed by a sheet of absorbed by several mm not fully absorbed by

card of aluminium several mm of lead

positive charge negative charge no charge

(1 mark)

14 Most α-particles pass straight through when fired at a thin sheet of metal foil, but a few
are deflected by a large angle.

Which change would increase the proportion of α-particles deflected by a large angle?

A. using a double thickness foil

B. using a foil made of a metal with fewer protons in its nuclei
C. using α-particles with greater kinetic energy
D. using an alpha source with a higher activity

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 (1 mark)

15 New insights were discovered when α-particles were fired at a sheet of gold foil.

Which conclusion can be drawn from the results of the experiment?

A. the atomic nucleus contains protons and neutrons

B. electrons orbit the atomic nucleus
C. some atoms of the same element contain different numbers of neutrons
D. atomic nuclei occupy a very small fraction of the volume of an atom
(1 mark)

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Medium Questions
1 A radioactive nucleus is formed by β-decay. This nucleus then decays by α-emission.

The graphs below show the nucleon number N plotted against proton number Z. Which
one shows the β-decay followed by the α-emission?

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 (1 mark)

2 Nucleus X decays in two stages to produce nucleus Y.

Which decay sequence will result in the highest number of neutrons in nucleus Y ?

A. an α-particle followed by a β-particle

B. a β-particle followed by a γ-ray
C. a β-particle followed by another β-particle
D. an α-particle followed by a γ-ray
(1 mark)

3 The isotope 222Rn decays in a sequence of emissions to form the isotope 206Pb .
86 82

It will either emit an α-particle or a β-particle at each stage of the decay sequence.

What is the number of stages in the decay sequence?

A. 20
B. 16
C. 8
D. 4
(1 mark)

4 An element emits an alpha particle from its radioactive nucleus.

The daughter nucleus then emits a beta particle, and then the daughter nucleus of that
reaction emits another beta particle.

Which statement describes the final nuclide that is formed ?

A. it is a nuclide of the same element but with different proton number

B. it is a nuclide of a different element of higher proton number
C. it is a different isotope of the original element
D. it is identical to the original nuclide

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 (1 mark)

5 Alpha, beta and gamma radiations:

1 are absorbed to different extents in solids

2 behave differently in an electric field

3 behave differently in a magnetic field

Diagrams 1, 2 and 3 illustrate these behaviours .

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 Which three labels on these diagrams refer to the same kind of radiation?

A. X, L, R
B. W. L, R
C. W, L, P
D. Y, M, P
(1 mark)

6 The nuclides shown in the grid below are arranged according to the number of protons
and neutrons in each.

A nucleus of the nuclide 8Li decays by emitting a β-particle.

3

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 What is the resulting nuclide ?

(1 mark)

7 A thorium isotope has a nucleon number of 232 and a proton number of 90. It decays to
form another isotope of with a nucleon number of 228.

How many alpha particles and beta particles are emitted during this decay?

Alpha particles Beta particles

A 0 4

B 1 2

C 1 1

D 2 1

(1 mark)

8 Three successive radioactive decays are shown in the diagram below; each one results in
a particle being emitted.

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 The first decay results in the emission of a β-particle. The second decay results in the
emission of an α-particle. The third decay results in the emission of another β-particle.

Nuclides W and Z are compared. Which statement is correct ?

A. W and Z are isotopes of the same element

B. Z is a different element of reduced mass
C. Z is a different element of lower atomic number
D. W and Z are identical in all respects
(1 mark)

9 Antimatter is a particle that is an antiparticle to the corresponding particle. A positron is

the antiparticle of an electron.

What is the difference between a positron and an electron ?

A. Mass
B. magnitude of charge
C. Charge
D. Spin
(1 mark)

10 A sequence of radioactive decays is shown in the graph of neutron number against

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 proton number.

Nucleus S is at the start of the sequence and, after the decays have occurred, nucleus T
is formed.

What is emitted during the sequence of decays?

A. one α-particle followed by one β-particle

B. two β-particles followed by one α-particle
C. two α-particles followed by two β-particles
D. one α-particle followed by two β-particles
(1 mark)

11 A radioactive substance with a nucleon number of 234 and a proton number of 90,
decays by β-emission into a daughter product which in turn decays by further β-emission
into a granddaughter product.

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 Which letter in the diagram represents the granddaughter product ?

(1 mark)

12 Astatine is a radioactive substance; it has a nucleon number of 218 and a proton number
of 85. When it decays it forms a polonium nucleus, emitting a β− particle and an α-
particle.

What are the nucleon number and the proton number of the polonium nucleus?

Nucleon number Proton number

A 214 84

B 214 83

C 216 83

D 215 82

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 (1 mark)

13 An element with an unstable nucleus decays by emitting an alpha particle to become the
nucleus of a different element.

The nucleus of the new element is unstable and will emit either an α-particle or a β−
particle. This process continues until an isotope of the original element is formed.

What is the minimum possible number of the particles emitted ?

A. 5
B. 4
C. 3
D. 2
(1 mark)

14 When α-particles are directed at gold leaf

1 almost all α-particles pass through without deflection,

2 a few α-particles deviate through large angles.

What are the reasons for these effects?

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 1 2

A the positive charge in an atom is not occasionally an α-particle experiences

concentrated enough to deflect an α- many small deflections in the same
particle direction

B the gold nucleus is very small so occasionally the path of an α-particle is

close to a nucleus
most α-particles miss all nuclei

C most α-particles miss all gold atoms a few α-particles bounce off gold atoms

D most α-particles have enough energy to gold is very dense so a few low energy
pass right through the gold leaf
α-particles bounce back from the gold
surface

(1 mark)

15 Two α-particles with equal energies are deflected by a gold nucleus.

Which diagram best represents their paths ?

(1 mark)

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Hard Questions
1 A stationary decay 210 Po of by α-emission has a total kinetic energy of Ek
84

210 Po → 206 Pb + α
84 82

What is the kinetic energy of the daughter nucleus 206 Pb ?

82

A. 0
Ek
B. between 0 and
2
Ek
C. between and E
2 k

D. E k
(1 mark)

2 Which of the following equations correctly shows an α-particle causing a nuclear reaction
?

A. 147N + 42He → 178O + 11n

B. 178O + 42He → 20 F
9
+ 1P
1

C. 178O + 0e
−1
→ 13 B + 4He
5 2

D. 147N + 11 p → 11 C
6
+ 4He
2
(1 mark)

3 Thorium 232 Th decays through a series of transformations. The particles emitted in

90
successive transformations are

α β β γ α

The resulting nuclide may be represented by

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 A. 230 Pb
82

B. 227 At
85

C. 225 Fr
87

D. 224 Ra
88
(1 mark)

4 In an α-particle scattering experiment, a student set up the apparatus below to

determine the number n of α-particles incident per unit time on a detector held at

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 various angles θ.

Which of the following graph best represents the variation of n with θ ?

(1 mark)

5 An unknown isotope A X decays through a series of transformations into Thorium-228.

Z
The atomic number of thorium is 90.

The successive transformations are:

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 γ β− α α γ

Which row states the correct isotope name, atomic number and mass number of the
unknown isotope A X ?
Z

Isotope name Atomic number / Z Mass number / A

A. Neptunium 93 235

B. Plutonium 94 237

C. Neptunium 93 236

D. Uranium 92 232

(1 mark)

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