Nuclear Physics Multiple Choice Questions and Answers for Practice

16. What force is responsible for the radioactive decay of the nucleus?

1. Weak Nuclear force
2. Strong Nuclear force
3. Electromagnetic force
4. Gravitational force

17. What law did Ernest Rutherford use to estimate the size of the nucleus?

1. Conservation of angular momentum
2. Conservation of linear momentum
3. Conservation of energy
4. Conservation of nucleon number

18. When a nucleus is divided into its constituents, energy is:

1. destroyed into nothing.
2. transformed into visible light.
3. absorbed by the nucleus which then breaks it apart.
4. created from nothing.

19. When nucleons form a stable nucleus, binding energy is:

1. destroyed into nothing.
2. transformed into visible light.
3. released as high energy photons or particles.
4. created from nothing.

20. Which of the following about the gamma ray is true?

1. It carries a negative charge.
2. It can be deflected by a magnetic field.
3. It has zero rest mass and a neutral charge.
4. It carries a positive charge.

21. Which of the following about the nuclear force is true?

1. It is an attractive force between electrons and neutrons in an atom.
2. It is much weaker than the electromagnetic force.
3. It is a strong, short-range, attractive force between the nucleons.
4. It is an attractive force between electrons and protons in an atom.

22. Which of the following is correct for the number of neutrons in the nucleus?

1. N = Z – A
2. N = Z +A
3. N = Z
4. N = A –Z

23. Which of the following is the Beta particle?

1. ⁰e_-1
2. ¹n₀
3. ¹H₁
4. ⁰e₊₁

24. Which of the following is the Beta-particle?

1. ⁰e_-1
2. ¹n₀
3. ¹H₁
4. ⁰e₊₁

25. Which of the following particles has the smallest mass?

1. Electron
2. Neutron
3. Nucleus
4. Proton

26. Which of the following statements about the mass of an atom is true?

1. It is evenly divided between the nucleons and the orbiting electrons.
2. It is concentrated in the electron cloud.
3. It is concentrated in the nucleus.
4. It is evenly divided between the protons and the orbiting electrons.

27. Which type of radiation is stopped by a sheet of paper?

1. beta particle
2. Gamma ray
3. X-ray
4. alpha particle

28. Why are nuclear energy levels more complex than electron energy levels?

1. Nuclear energy levels depend on attractive and repulsive forces.
2. Nuclear energy levels are an order of one hundred times as great as electron energy levels.
3. Electron energy levels depend on the interaction between neutrons and electrons.
4. Nuclear energy levels depend only on attractive forces.

29. Why do heavier nuclei have a greater ratio of neutrons to protons than lighter nuclei?

1. to provide a greater weak nuclear force.
2. to provide more attractive electromagnetic force.
3. to provide more attractive strong nuclear force to balance the repulsive electromagnetic force.
4. to add more nucleons so that the binding energy is greater.