AQA A Level Physics

Topic Questions

A LevelPhysicsAQATopic Questions8. Nuclear Physics8.4 Nuclear Fusion & Fission

8.4 Nuclear Fusion & Fission

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11 mark

Which line, A to D, in the table below gives the correct materials commonly used for controlling and moderating in a nuclear reactor? 

 

Controlling

Moderating

A

boron

water

B

boron

cadmium

C

carbon

cadmium

D

carbon

water

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21 mark

Which statement about the moderator in a nuclear reactor is incorrect?

  • The purpose of a moderator is to slow down neutrons

  • The moderating material is usually fissionable 

  • The moderating material encourages further fission reactions with uranium fuel 

  • The moderator is usually water or graphite 

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31 mark

What is the mass defect of the helium nucleus, H presubscript 2 presuperscript 4 e ? 

Use the following information:

  • Mass of a proton = 1.00728 u
  • Mass of a neutron = 1.00867 u
  • Mass of H presubscript 2 presuperscript 4 e = 4.00260 u

  • 0.02930 u

  • 4.03190 u

  • 0.02652 u

  • 0.03208 u

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41 mark

Which statement about the nuclear binding energy is correct?

  • It is the energy equivalent of the mass of the neutrons in a nucleus

  • It is the energy required to separate nucleons in a nucleus

  • It is the energy required to overcome the electrostatic force between nucleons in the nucleus

  • It is the energy required to remove a single nucleon from a nucleus

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51 mark

Which of the following is a valid unit of mass? 

  • MeV

  • fraction numerator M e V over denominator c squared end fraction

  • fraction numerator M e V over denominator c end fraction

  • eV

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11 mark

A nuclear fusion reaction involving deuterium and tritium is described by the nuclear equation below: 

               H presubscript 1 presuperscript 2 space plus space H presubscript 1 presuperscript 3 space rightwards arrow space H presubscript 2 presuperscript 4 e space plus space n presubscript 0 presuperscript 1 + energy

How many such fusion reactions would be required keep an average household, which uses approximately 2000 kWh of electric energy per month, running for a month? 

You may use the following data:

  • Mass of  H presubscript 1 presuperscript 2 = 2.014102 u
  • Mass of  H presubscript 1 presuperscript 3 = 3.016049 u
  • Mass of  H presubscript 2 presuperscript 4 e = 4.002602 u
  • Mass of n presubscript 0 presuperscript 1 = 1.008665 u

  • 2.6 × 1025

  • 7.6 × 1029

  • 2.6 × 1021

  • 7.6 × 1025

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21 mark

A nuclear reaction is given below: 

            U presubscript 92 presuperscript 235 space plus n presubscript 0 presuperscript 1 space rightwards arrow space B presubscript 56 presuperscript 142 a space plus space K presubscript 36 presuperscript 91 r space plus 3 n presubscript 0 presuperscript 1 space plus 174.4 space M e V

You may use the following data:

  • Mass of U presubscript 92 presuperscript 235 = 235.0439 u
  • Mass of  B presubscript 56 presuperscript 142 a = 141.9164 u
  • Mass of K presubscript 36 presuperscript 91 r = 90.9234 u
  • 1 u = 931.5 MeV = 1.6610 × 10–27 kg 

From this data, the mass of a neutron can be inferred as which of the following?

  • 1.9921 × 10–27 kg

  • 1.9959 × 10–27 kg

  • 1.9770 × 10–27 kg

  • 1.9860 × 10–27 kg

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31 mark

Sometimes, a gamma ray photon accompanies two alpha particles when lithium nuclides L presubscript 3 presuperscript 7 i are bombarded by high-speed protons. 

When this happens, the kinetic energy of the alpha particles after the reaction is measured to be about 16.5 MeV. 

What is the frequency of the gamma ray photon emitted? 

The following data may be used:

  • Mass of  L presubscript 3 presuperscript 7 i= 7.0160 u
  • Mass of a proton = 1.0080 u
  • Mass of an alpha particle = 4.0026

  • 2.6 × 1020 Hz

  • 4.2 × 1021 Hz

  • 3.8 × 1020 Hz

  • 3.8 × 1021 Hz

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41 mark

Burning one metric tonne (1000 kg) of coal can yield 3.30 × 1010 J of energy, while the fission of a single uranium-235 nucleus yields, on average, a much larger amount of energy. 

When a thermal neutron is absorbed by a uranium-235 nucleus, it produces fission products as well as three neutrons, as given by the equation below: 

             n presubscript 0 presuperscript 1 space plus space U presubscript 92 presuperscript 235 space rightwards arrow Z presubscript 40 presuperscript 98 r space plus T presubscript 52 presuperscript 135 e space plus 3 n presubscript 0 presuperscript 1+ energy 

What is the mass of coal needed to give the same amount of energy as 1 kg of uranium-235? 

You may use the following data:

  • Mass of begin mathsize 20px style n presubscript 0 presuperscript 1 end style= 1.00866 u
  • Mass of  U presubscript 92 presuperscript 235= 235.0439 u
  • Total mass of  Z presubscript 40 presuperscript 98 r space plus space T presubscript 52 presuperscript 135 e  = 232.8292 u

  • 5.3 × 109 kg

  • 2.9 × 1010 kg

  • 7.6 × 1013 kg

  • 2.3 × 106 kg

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51 mark

A nucleus begin mathsize 20px style X presubscript Z presuperscript A end style has a mass M. 

Which of the following expressions correctly represents the binding energy per nucleon of this nucleus in terms of the speed of light c, the mass of a proton begin mathsize 20px style m subscript p end style and the mass of a neutron m subscript n?

  • begin mathsize 20px style open parentheses fraction numerator Z m subscript p plus A m subscript n minus M over denominator A end fraction close parentheses c squared end style

  • begin mathsize 20px style open parentheses fraction numerator Z m subscript p plus open parentheses A minus Z close parentheses m subscript n minus M over denominator Z end fraction close parentheses c squared end style

  • open parentheses fraction numerator Z m subscript p plus open parentheses Z minus A close parentheses m subscript n minus M over denominator A end fraction close parentheses c squared

  • begin mathsize 20px style open parentheses fraction numerator Z m subscript p plus open parentheses A minus Z close parentheses m subscript n minus M over denominator A end fraction close parentheses c squared end style

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11 mark

Boron-10 is a stable isotope of boron with a relative atomic mass of 10.01294 u. 

What is the binding energy per nucleon of a boron-10 nucleus? 

Use the following data:

  • Atomic number of boron = 5
  • Mass of a proton = 1.00728 u
  • Mass of a neutron = 1.00867 u
  • 1 u = 931.5 MeV

  • 6.2 MeV nucleon–1

  • 62 MeV nucleon–1

  • 12 MeV nucleon–1

  • 0.06 MeV nucleon–1

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21 mark

A stationary uranium-238 nucleus decays by alpha-emission, as shown in the equation below:  

                U presubscript 92 presuperscript 238 space rightwards arrow space T presubscript 90 presuperscript 234 h space plus space alpha presubscript 2 presuperscript 4

This decay generates a total energy E. 

Which of the following statements is correct regarding the kinetic energy of the alpha particle alpha presubscript 2 presuperscript 4?

  • It is slightly less than 0.5E

  • It is equal to 0.5E

  • It is slightly greater than 0.5E

  • It is slightly less than E

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31 mark

Which statement about nuclear power is incorrect?

  • Concrete shielding is a preventative measure to ensure harmful radiation does not escape from a nuclear reactor

  • An advantage of nuclear power is that it produces no polluting gases 

  • The decay constant of high-level radioactive waste is extremely large 

  • Generating energy from nuclear processes is generally more efficient than generating energy from fossil fuels

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41 mark

The graph below shows how the average binding energy per nucleon varies with nucleon number for stable nuclei.

8-4-mcq-q4-medium-aqa-a-level-physics

Approximately how much energy is released when the nucleus X presubscript 70 presuperscript 181 forms?

  • 7.90 MeV

  • 1430 MeV

  • 533 MeV

  • 888 MeV

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51 mark

Nitrogen-14 can be transformed into Oxygen-17 by bombardment with high energy alpha particles, as described in the nuclear reaction equation below: 

                N presubscript 7 presuperscript 14 space plus space H presubscript 2 presuperscript 4 e space rightwards arrow space O presubscript 8 presuperscript 17 space plus H presubscript 1 presuperscript 1

The total rest-mass of the reactants is 18.006 u and total rest mass of the products is 18.007 u. 

Which of the following statements about this reaction is correct?

 

  • A mass of 0.001 u has been converted to about 1 MeV of energy

  • The kinetic energy of the products exceeds the kinetic energy of the reactants by about 1 MeV

  • The kinetic energy of the reactants exceeds the kinetic energy of the products by about 1 MeV

  • The mass defect of this reaction is 0.002 u

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