CHAPTER 9 — NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Which of the following scientists discovered radioactivity?

a. H. Becquerel c. A. Einstein
b. M. Curie d. E. Rutherford
5. Which of the following scientists is not closely associated with early studies of radioactivity?
a. H. Becquerel c. A. Einstein
b. M. Curie d. E. Rutherford
9. Which of the following forms of radiation consists of electrically neutral particles?
a. α c.
b. d. none of these
13. Which of the following forms of radiation involves the heaviest particles?
a. α c.
b. d. positron

17. Which of the following is the relationship between the wavelength, λ, and frequency, v, of
electromagnetic radiation?
a. λ = cv c. λ = v/c
b. λ = c/v d. λ = 1/cv
21. Which of the following gives the correct order for the wavelengths of portions of the electromagnetic
spectrum?
a. radio > infrared > ultraviolet c. ultraviolet > infrared > radio
b. radio > ultraviolet > infrared d. ultraviolet > radio > infrared
25. Which of the following is the name given to a packet of electromagnetic radiation?
a. phonon c. phason
b. phonton d. photon
29. Approximately how many stable isotopes have been identified?
a. 92 c. 265
b. 118 d. more than 300
33. Which of the following statements is true of artificially created isotopes?
a. All artificially created isotopes are stable.
b. All artificially created isotopes are unstable.
c. Most artificially created isotopes are stable.
d. Most artificially created isotopes are unstable.
37. Which of the following radioactive processes does not result in transmutation?.
a. α emission c. γ emission
b. β emission d. neither a. nor b.

41. Carbon-14 is a β emitter. What isotope is formed when 14C emits a β particle?
a. 14B c. 14O
14
b. N d. 16O
45. What is the atomic number of the element produced when an element with atomic number Z emits an
α particle?
a. Z __ 2 c. Z + 1
b. Z __ 1 d. Z + 2
49. What is the atomic number of the element produced when an element with atomic number Z emits a
positron?
a. Z __ 2 c. Z + 1
b. Z __ 1 d. Z + 2
53. Which isotope of oxygen is most likely to be a positron emitter?
a. 15O c. 17O
b. 16O d. 19O

57. What is the mass number of the element produced when an element with mass number A undergoes
electron capture?
a. A __ 2 c. A
__
b. A 1 d. A + 1
61. Which type of radioactive particles has the longest half-life?
a. α emitters
b. β emitters
c. γ emitters
d. there is no relationship between half-life and the type of radiation
65. What is the minimum number of half-lives must elapse so that less than 1.0% of the radioactivity of a
sample remains?
a. 6 c. 8
b. 7 d. 9
69. The half-life of I-131 is 8 days. If a medical treatment involves a dose of 100 mg of I-131, how much
of the isotope remains after 16 days?
a. 12.5 mg c. 50 mg
b. 25 mg d. 75 mg
73. Different isotopes are useful in different dating processes. Suppose we wished to determine the age of
an object which we suspect to be approximately 10,000 years old. An isotope with which of the
following half-lives would be most appropriate for this project?
a. 50 years c. 5,000 years
b. 500 years d. 50,000 years
77. Radiation detectors use which of the following properties to detect radioactivity?
a. charge c. mass
b. ionizing ability d. all of these
81. In which of the following radiation detectors is a phosphor used?
a. a Geiger-Müller counter c. a scintillation counter
b. a proportional counter d. all of these
85. Which of the following will have activity of 1.0 Ci?
a. 1.0 g of naturally occurring Ra c. 1.0 g of pure 286Ra
b. 1.0 kg of naturally occurring Ra d. 1.0 kg pure 286Ra
89. A radiation detector which is located 2.0 meters from a radiation source indicates a radiation intensity
of 100 mCi (millicuries). What would the radiation intensity be if the detector was 4.0 meters from the
source?
a. 25 mCi c. 200 mCi
b. 50 mCi d. 400 mCi
93. Which of the following gives the correct order of the penetrating power of radiation?
a. α > β > γ c. β > γ > α
 b. β > α > γ d. γ > β > α
97. Which of the following is of particular importance in studying the effect of radiation on the body?
a. energy c. both a. and b.
b. intensity d. neither a. nor b.
101. Which of the following is the most important biological measure of radiation?
a. curie c. rem
b. rad d. roentgen
105. For a specific delivered dose of “soft” x-rays, which type of type of material has the largest absorbed
dose?
a. bone c. water
b. muscle d. they all have the same absorbed dose
109. Which of the following is a measure of effect of radiation on biological material?
a. curie c. rad
b. gray d. sievert
113. A single whole body exposure to what dose of radiation will almost invariably lead to a person=s death
in a relatively short time?
a. 25 rem c. 300 rem
b. 100 rem d. 600 rem
117. Approximately what percentage of an individual’s average annual exposure to radiation is associated
with artificial sources of radiation?
a. 20% c. 60%
b. 40% d. 80%
121. In which of these diagnostic techniques is radiation from a radioisotope used?
a. CT c. PET
b. MRI d. ultrasound
125. Which isotope of carbon is frequently incorporated into drugs during the drug testing phase?
a. C-11 c. C-13
b. C-12 d. C-14
129. Which of the following is the name of the free radical formed when radiation knocks an electron out of
a water molecule?
a. hydronium c. hydroxium
b. hydroxide d. hydroxyl
133. Which of the following equations correctly describes the relationship between mass and energy when
mass, m, is converted to energy, E?
a. E = mc c. E= 2 mc2
b. E = 2mc d. E= mc2
137. Which of the following is true regarding the fuel for a fission reaction?
a. any isotope of uranium can be used
b. only U-235 can be used
c. only U-238 can be used
d. uranium is not a suitable fuel
141. Which of the following elements is not likely to be produced by nuclear fission?
a. Ba c. Kr
b. H d. Sr
 145. Approximately what percentage of the electricity produced in the United States comes from nuclear
energy?
a. 5% c. 35%
b. 15% d. 55%
149. Which of the following is the longest term problem associated with properly functioning nuclear
reactors?
a. the danger of nuclear meltdown c. storage of radioactive fission products
b. radioactive fallout d. thermal pollution
Answers 1a 5c 9c 13a 17b 21a 25d 29c 33b 37b 41b 45a 49b 53a 57c 61d 65b 69b 73c 77b
81c 85c 89a 93d 97c 101c 105a 109d 113d 117a 121c 125c 129d 133c 137b 141b 145b 149c