Practice Quiz: Nuclear Chemistry

1. Which is NOT a source of background radiation? A. cigarette smoke B. televisions C. batteries D. cosmic rays E. bricks F. people Each of these other items contribute to small, but measureable, amounts of background radiation. From “Annual Radiation Exposure” notes.

2. In what country did the Curie’s do their research? France to review the material about the Curie’s work, go to packet 9 website & click on “pictoral story of Marie Curie”. (It WILL be on quiz!)

3. What type of nuclear reaction is responsible for creating the elements? A. natural decay B. induced C. electron capture D. fission E. fusion fusion occurs in stars, which turn small elements into larger ones

4. Which does NOT describe a property of vaseline glass? A. it’s banned by the government B. it has a yellow-green color C. it glows under a UV blacklight D. it’s radioactive Vaseline glass gets its color & radioactivity from uranium. It is now a sought-after collector item. From “hot or not” demo day.

5. In the “Radio Bikini” video, how many bombs were detonated near Bikini Island? two #1 was above the target ships. #2 was below the water. (the H-bomb was also tested there, 10 years later)

6. In a nuclear power plant, the purpose of H 2 O is to… I.protect workers from radiation II.cool the reactor III. turn the turbines A. only I. E. II. and III. B. only II. F. I. and III. C. only III. G. I, II, and III D. I. and II. H. none of them I.Fuel rods are stored under water for safety. II. Water is used to cool the reactor core. III. Water (steam) under pressure turns turbines. See WS 9.6

7. Why did the Fiesta company stop using uranium in their dinnerware? A. it became too expensive to mine for the uranium B. too many workers were developing cancer C. the government used the uranium for bombs D. Mr. Anderson’s students kept stealing the plates & sold them to fund the Don Showalter fun club. This forced the Fiesta company to use a different type of glazing. From “hot or not” demos.

8. The general idea of Einstein’s equation E = mc 2 is that… A. a small amount of mass can be changed into a large amount of energy B. a small amount of energy can be changed into a large amount of mass C. energy and mass are equally interchangeable D. energy and mass are not interchangeable This is why nuclear energy is so efficient. See WS 9.7.

9. Which would have the highest ratio of C-14 to C-12? A. an elm tree, chopped down 1,000 years ago B. a limestone boulder, age as old as Earth C. a newborn infant D. a wool blanket, 15,000 years old Everything living has the SAME C-14 to C-12 ratio. This ratio never changes until death. C-14 dating is a big part of quiz. See WS 9.4

10. What are some application of nuclear fusion? I.nuclear power plants II.nuclear weapons III. medical scanners A. only I. E. II. and III. B. only II. F. I. and III. C. only III. G. I, II, and III D. I. and II. H. none of them I.We’re still many decades away from fusion reactors. II. The hydrogen fusion bomb. Never used in war. III. Um, I hope not! See class notes: “applications of fusion”.

11. Which is these would NOT be radioactive…? A. smoke detectors B. Brazil nuts C. orange Fiesta plates D. vaseline colored glass E. radium wristwatch F. lantern mantle G. tungsten-halogen light bulb from class demo: “Hot or Not”

12. name that power plant! a)power plant in Russia that had meltdown & devastating environmental effects: a) power plant in US that had a parital meltdown, scared public, but no environmental damage: Chernobyl Three Mile Island

13. Fluorine-18 undergoes what type of natural decay? And what will be its daughter? hint: you’ll need to look it up on your good periodic table positron decay 9 18 F 0 e + 18 O +1 8 from WS 9.2 – writing balanced nuclear equations

15. Where are the natives of Bikini Island today? A. majority presumed dead from radiation illness B. in 1988, they were granted homestead access to return to their island C. mostly confined to Internment camps in American Somoa D. living in settlements around the Marshall Islands E. the only 9 survivors are living in Mr. Paffrath’s basement making shoes, getting paid $0.50 per shoe from class video: “Radio Bikini”

16. Which type of radiation therapy is most effective to treat cancer patients? A. alpha radiation B. beta radiation C. gamma radiation D. CT (CAT) scans E. MRI scans F. radioactive tracers from WS 9.7: “applications of nuclear chemistry”

17. When radioactive elements are injected into patients for diagnostic purposes, this is known as: A. alpha therapy B. beta therapy C. gamma therapy D. CT (CAT) scans E. MRI scans F. medical tracers G. torture worse than Chazen’s class from WS 9.7: “applications of nuclear chemistry”

18. Someone finds a 40 year old thorium (an alpha emitter) coated lantern mantle in their garage. What substance(s) would be present on it today? I.thorium II. uranium III. radium IV. americium A. all are possible D. I and III B. only I & II E. II and IV C. only III & IV F. only I Thorium is element #90. Some of it will decay to become radium (#88). Alpha decay will not increase an atomic # to form 92 U or 95 Am

19. radon-222 undergoes how many alpha and beta decays to become astatine-218? from WS 9.2: writing balanced nucelar equations 222 Rn 4 He Po Po 0 e At step 1: do alpha decay until mass # becomes 218 step 2: do beta decay until atomic # becomes 85 step 3: count the # of alpha & beta needed one alpha, one beta