I- Multiple choice questions.

[33 marks, 1 each]

1. Which type of radiation can be stopped by a sheet of paper?

A.

-particles

B.

-particles

C.

-rays

D.

X-rays

2. An atom of lithium contains three protons and three electrons.

The nucleon number (mass number) of the atom is 7.
How many neutrons are there in the atom?

A.

B.

C.

D.

10

3. Which line correctly describes -particles?

electric charge

penetrates 1cm
of aluminum?

A.

negative

yes

B.

negative

no

C.

positive

yes

D.

positive

no

4. How many nucleons are in a nucleus of

A.

19

B.

20

C.

39

D.

58

39
19

K ?

5. Which type of radiation has the greatest ionising effect?

A.

-particles

B.

-particles

C.

-rays

D.

all have the same ionising effect

6. In the symbol below, A is the nucleon number and Z is the proton number.
A
Z

What is represented by the symbol?

A.

an electron

B.

a neutron

C.

a nuclide

D.

an X-ray

7. The diagram shows five atoms in a radioactive substance. The atoms each
give out an -particle.
Atom 1 is the first to give out a particle. Atom 3 is the second to give out a
particle. Which atom will give out the next particle?

A.

atom 2

B.

atom 4

C.

atom 5

D.

impossible
tell

to

8. The nucleus of a neutral atom of lithium is represented by

7
3

Li

How many protons, electrons and neutrons does the atom contain?
Protons

Electrons

Neutrons

A.

B.

C.

D.

9. What are the most penetrating and the least penetrating types of
radiation?
most penetrating

least penetrating

A.

-particles

-particles

B.

-particles

-particles

C.

-rays

-particles

D.

-rays

-particles

10. The data below relates to the nucleus of a particular neutral atom of
nitrogen.
Proton number Z = 7
Nucleon number A = 17
Which row represents the correct number of neutrons and electrons in this
atom?
Number of neutrons

number of electrons

A.

10

B.

10

10

C.

17

D.

17

10

11. What is a -particle and from which part of a radioactive atom is it

emitted?
-particle

emitted from

A.

electron

nucleus

B.

electron

outer orbits

C.

helium nucleus

nucleus

D.

helium nucleus

outer orbits

12. A particular nuclide has the symbol.

37
17

Cl

What is true for atoms of this nuclide?

A.

There are 17 nucleons in the nucleus.

B.

There are 17 protons in the nucleus.

C.

There are 37 electrons in the nucleus.

D.

There are 37 neutrons in the nucleus.

13. A radioactive nucleus contains 138 neutrons. The nucleus emits an particle.
How many neutrons are in the nucleus after it has emitted the -particle?

A.

134

B.

136

C.

138

D.

139
16
7

14.

Is the symbol for a particular nuclide of nitrogen. How many

nucleons does this nuclide contain?

A.

B.

C.

16

D.

23

15. Which row describes the properties of -particles?

ionizing effect

Radiation stopped by
aluminum?

A.

large

no

B.

large

yes

C.

small

no

D.

small

yes

16. The nuclide notation for radium-226 is

226
88

Ra

How many electrons orbit the nucleus of a neutral atom of radium-226?

A.

B.

88

C.

138

D.

226

17. Which row shows the relative ionising effects and penetrating abilities of
-particles and -particles?
ionising effect

penetrating ability

A.

greater than

greater than

B.

greater than

less than

C.
D.

less than
less than

greater than
less than

18. A radioactive nucleus emits a -particle. What happens to the proton

number (atomic number) of the nucleus?

A.

It stays the
same.

B.
C.
D.

It increases by
1.
It decreases by
2.
It decreases by
4.

19. An atom of the element lithium has a nucleon number of 7 and a proton
number of 3. Which diagram
represents a
neutral atom of lithium?

A.

Diagram A

B.

Diagram B

C.

Diagram C

D.

Diagram D

20. Which diagram could represent the structure of a neutral atom?

A.

Diagram A

B.

Diagram B

C.

Diagram C

D.

Diagram D

21. The diagram shows the paths of three different types of radiation, X, Y
and Z.

Which row in the table correctly identifies X, Y and Z?

A.

-particles

-particles

-rays

B.

-particles

-particles

-rays

C.

-particles

-rays

-particles

D.

-rays

-particles

-particles

22. Which diagram could represent the structure of a neutral atom?

A.

Diagram A

B.

Diagram B

C.

Diagram C

D.

Diagram D

23. The diagram represents a carbon atom.

What is the nucleon number (mass number) for this atom?

A.

B.

C.

14

D.

20

II- Theory questions Paper 2(core).

1. (a) Complete the following table about the particles in an atom. The first
row has been filled in as an example. [6]
particle
Proton
Neutron
Electron

mass
1 unit

charge
+ 1 unit

Location
In the nucleus

(b) (i) Which of the particles in the table make up an

-particle? ...........................................................................................................
.......................
(ii) On the same scale as indicated by the table, state
1. the mass of an
-particle, .................................................................................
2. the charge of an particle. ............................................................................... [3]

2. Three particles you have learned about are protons, neutrons and
electrons.
(a) How many of each of these particles
(i) are found in an -particle,
number of protons = ...................
number of neutrons = ...................
number of electrons = ...................
[1]
(ii) are found in a -particle?
number of protons = ...................
number of neutrons = ...................
number of electrons = ...................
[1]
(b) Sodium-24 can be represented as

24
11

Na .

How many of each of these particles are there in a neutral atom of

24
11

Na ?

number of protons = .....................

number of neutrons = .....................
number of electrons = .....................
[3]
(c) A nucleus of sodium-24 decays to become magnesium-24, by the
emission of one particle. The equation below describes this change.
The symbol

x
y

represents the emitted particle.

24
11

(i)

x
Na 24
12 Mg + y

State the value of x. ....................

[1]

(ii)
(iii)

State the value of y. ....................

[1]
What type of particle is ? ....................
[1]
[Total: 8]

5. In the atomic model, the atom has a central mass. Much smaller particles
orbit this central mass, as shown in the figure

(a) State the name given to the central

mass. ......................................................................................................
................................ [1]
(b) State the name given to the orbiting
particles. .................................................................................................
..................................... [1]
(c) State the names of the particles from which the central mass is
made. ...........................................................
and .................................................................... [2]
(d) The central mass of the helium atom is identical to one of the particles
emitted in radioactive decay. Which particle is
this? ...................................................................................................
[1]
(e) State the name of the particles that form cathode
rays. ........................................................................................................
.............................. [1]
[Total: 6]

[Total: 5]

7. The following table includes some of the properties of alpha, beta and
gamma radiations. Complete the table by filling in the missing properties.

8. Radioactive materials are stored in a cupboard.

(i) Which of the symbols shown in the figure below is used on the door
of the cupboard to warn of the radiation hazard?
Tick one box.

[1]
(ii) State one other safety precaution that should be taken when
storing the radioactive substances in the
cupboard. ................................................................................................
.................................. ..............................................................................
..............................................
[1]

[Total: 5]
11. (a) Complete the table below. In the centre column, state whether the
particle is inside or outside the nucleus. In the right-hand column, state
whether the particle has a positive charge or a negative charge or no charge.

(b) Which of the particles in the above table

(i) is the same as a particle, ......................................................................................
(ii) makes up cathode
rays? ..........................................................................................

[2]