CIE A Level Physics

Topic Questions

A LevelPhysicsCIETopic Questions11. Particle Physics11.1 Atoms, Nuclei & Radiation

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First teaching 2020

Last exams 2024

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11.1 Atoms, Nuclei & Radiation

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11 mark

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?

  • it could be alpha, beta and gamma radiation

  • it could be beta and gamma radiation, but not alpha radiation

  • it could be alpha and gamma radiation, but not beta radiation

  • it could be alpha and beta radiation, but not gamma radiation

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21 mark

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

  • proton number of the nuclei

  • nucleon number of the nuclei

  • neutron number of the nuclei

  • energy of the β-particles

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31 mark

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?

  • the atomic nucleus contains protons and neutrons

  • electrons orbit the atomic nucleus

  • some atoms of the same element contain different numbers of neutrons

  • atomic nuclei occupy a very small fraction of the volume of an atom

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41 mark

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

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

  • a neutron

  • a γ-ray

  • a β-particle

  • an α-particle

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51 mark

The atom C presubscript 55 presuperscript 133 s is a neutral atom

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

 

Protons

Neutrons

Electrons

A

B

C

D

133

55

78

55

55

78

55

133

133

55

78

55

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61 mark

The following statements are about α-particles.

Which is correct?

  • α-particles emitted from a single radioactive isotope have a continuous distribution of energies

  • α-particles have less ionising power than β-particles

  • the speeds of α-particles can be as high as 1.5 × 107 m s–1

  • the charge of an α-particle is +1.60 × 10–19 C

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71 mark

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

  • nucleon numbers are unchanged by the emission of β-particles

  • in some nuclear processes, mass-energy is not conserved

  • for some nuclei, the nucleon number can be less than the proton number

  • different isotopic nuclei have different proton numbers

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81 mark

When an α-particle is produced by U presubscript 92 presuperscript 258 it produces a new atom X.

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

 

Protons

Nucleons

A

B

C

D

92

90

92

88

256

254

250

254

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91 mark

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?

  • nucleus R is an isotope of nucleus Q

  • nucleus R has the same nucleon number as nucleus Q

  • beta particle decay occurs when a proton changes into a neutron

  • the total mass of the products is equal to the mass of the initial nucleus Q

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101 mark

Four nuclei are represented below

 Q presubscript 13 presuperscript 24 space space space space space E presubscript 14 presuperscript 28 space space space space space G presubscript 15 presuperscript 25 space space space space space M presubscript 12 presuperscript 25

Which of the following statements about these nuclei is correct?

  • an uncharged atom of element Q has 24 orbital electrons

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

  • nuclei G and M are isotopes of the same element

  • nucleus M could transform into Q by emitting a beta particle

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111 mark

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?

  • using a double thickness foil 

  • using a foil made of a metal with fewer protons in its nuclei

  • using α-particles with greater kinetic energy

  • using an alpha source with a higher activity

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121 mark

Plutonium-239 open parentheses P presubscript 94 presuperscript 239 u close parentheses decays by emitting α-radiation.

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

  • X presubscript 95 presuperscript 239

  • X presubscript 92 presuperscript 237

  • X presubscript 93 presuperscript 239

  • X presubscript 92 presuperscript 235

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131 mark

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

Which row is it?

  Nucleon number Number of neutrons
A 186
180		 112
118
B 184
187		 110
110
C 186
182		 112
108
D 186
186		 110
112

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141 mark

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

  • gamma radiation has the greatest ionising power

  • beta radiation has the greatest ionising power

  • alpha radiation has the greatest ionising power

  • alpha, beta and gamma radiation have nearly equal ionising powers

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151 mark

  • 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?

      Alpha Beta Gamma
    A

    absorbed by a sheet
    of card

    negative charge

    absorbed by several mm
    of aluminium

    no charge

    not fully absorbed by several mm of lead

    no charge
    B

    absorbed by several mm
    of aluminium

    positive charge

    not fully absorbed by several mm
    of lead

    negative charge

    absorbed by a sheet
    of card

    no charge
    C

    absorbed by a sheet
    of card

    negative charge

    absorbed by several mm
    of aluminium

    positive charge

    not fully absorbed by several mm of lead

    no charge
    D

    absorbed by a sheet
    of card

    positive charge

    absorbed by several mm
    of aluminium

    negative charge

    not fully absorbed by several mm of lead

    no charge

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11 mark

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 various angles θ.

cie-ial-images619png

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

cie-ial-images620png

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21 mark

A stationary decay P presubscript 84 presuperscript 210 o of  by α-emission has a total kinetic energy of Ek

                P presubscript 84 presuperscript 210 o space rightwards arrow space P presubscript 82 presuperscript 206 b space plus space alpha

What is the kinetic energy of the daughter nucleus P presubscript 82 presuperscript 206 b ?

  • 0

  • between 0 and E subscript k over 2

  • between E subscript k over 2 and E subscript k

  • E subscript k

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31 mark

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

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

  • O presubscript 8 presuperscript 17 space plus space H presubscript 2 presuperscript 4 e space rightwards arrow space F presubscript 9 presuperscript 20 space plus space P presubscript 1 presuperscript 1

  • O presubscript 8 presuperscript 17 space plus space e presubscript negative 1 end presubscript presuperscript 0 space rightwards arrow space B presubscript 5 presuperscript 13 space plus space H presubscript 2 presuperscript 4 e

  • N presubscript 7 presuperscript 14 space plus space space presubscript 1 presuperscript 1 p space rightwards arrow space C presubscript 6 presuperscript 11 space plus H presubscript 2 presuperscript 4 e

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41 mark

Thorium T presubscript 90 presuperscript 232 h decays through a series of transformations. The particles emitted in successive transformations are

           alpha space space beta space space beta space space gamma space space alpha

 The resulting nuclide may be represented by

  • P presubscript 82 presuperscript 230 b

  • A presubscript 85 presuperscript 227 t

  • F presubscript 87 presuperscript 225 r

  • R presubscript 88 presuperscript 224 a

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11 mark

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?

cie-ial-images609png

cie-ial-images610png

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21 mark

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?

 

1

2

A

the positive charge in an atom is not concentrated enough to deflect an α-particle

occasionally an α-particle experiences many small deflections in the same direction

B

the gold nucleus is very small so

most α-particles miss all nuclei

occasionally the path of an α-particle is close to a nucleus

C

most α-particles miss all gold atoms

a few α-particles bounce off gold atoms

D

most α-particles have enough energy to pass right through the gold leaf

gold is very dense so a few low energy

α-particles bounce back from the gold surface

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31 mark

Nucleus X decays in two stages to produce nucleus Y.

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

  • an α-particle followed by a β-particle

  • a β-particle followed by a γ-ray 

  • a β-particle followed by another β-particle

  • an α-particle followed by a γ-ray

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41 mark

The isotope bold italic R presubscript bold 86 presuperscript bold 222 bold italic n decays in a sequence of emissions to form the isotope bold italic P presubscript bold 82 presuperscript bold 206 bold italic b.

 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?

  • 20

  • 16

  • 8

  • 4

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51 mark

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 ?

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

  • it is a nuclide of a different element of higher proton number

  • it is a different isotope of the original element

  • it is identical to the original nuclide

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61 mark

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 .

cie-ial-images611png

cie-ial-images612png

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

  • X, L, R 

  • W. L, R

  • W, L, P

  • Y, M, P

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71 mark

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

 A nucleus of the nuclide L presubscript 3 presuperscript 8 i  decays by emitting a β-particle.

 What is the resulting nuclide ?

cie-ial-images614png

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81 mark

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

B

C

D

0

1

1

2

4

2

1

1

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91 mark

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

Which diagram best represents their paths ?

cie-ial-images615png

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101 mark

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

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.

cie-ial-images616png

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

  • W and Z are isotopes of the same element

  • Z is a different element of reduced mass

  • Z is a different element of lower atomic number

  • W and Z are identical in all respects

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111 mark

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 ?

  • Mass

  • magnitude of charge

  • Charge

  • Spin

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121 mark

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

cie-ial-images617png

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?

  • one α-particle followed by one β-particle

  • two β-particles followed by one α-particle

  • two α-particles followed by two β-particles

  • one α-particle followed by two β-particles 

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131 mark

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.

Which letter in the diagram represents the granddaughter product ?

cie-ial-images618png

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141 mark

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

B

C

D

214

214

216

215

84

83

83

82

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151 mark

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 ?

  • 5

  • 4

  • 3

  • 2

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