Practice Problems Chapter 1 1. The atom 146C contains _____ electrons, ______ protons, and ______ neutrons. A. B. C. D. E.

6 6 14 14 8 6 8 6 8 6 8 8 8 20 14

2. Electron binding energy is ___________. A. Greater in the L shell than the K shell of an atom B. Greater for the K shell of hydrogen than the K shell of barium C. Increases with Z D. All of the above 3. In heavy nuclei such as 235 U: A. There are more protons than neutrons B. Protons and neutrons are equal in number C. There are more neutrons than protons D. Cannot tell from information given 4. The number of electrons in the outer shell of an atom: A. is always 2n2 B. is greater for radioactive isotopes than for stable isotopes of the same element C. determines the chemical properties of the atom D. is always between 8 and 16 E. is 1 for all inert gases

Practice Problems Chapter 2 1. In the expression A = Ao e t, is _______. A. The number/fraction of atoms decaying per unit time B. The fraction of atoms decaying in time (t) C. The linear attenuation coefficient D. The mass attenuation coefficient 2. If the half-life of a radionuclide is 74 days, the decay constant is __________. A. 3.7 days B. 37 days C. 106.8 days D. 0.0094 per day E. 0.027 per day 3. If the physical half-life Tp of a radionuclide is much smaller than its biological halflife Tb, the effective half-life will be closest to _______. ( D2L slide 6) A. Tp B. Tb C. (Tp + Tb)/2 D. (TpTb)1/2 E. 1.44 Tp 4.
226

Ra decays to 222Rn by _______ decay. A. Beta minus B. Alpha C. Gamma D. Beta plus E. Both A and C

Practice Problems Chapter 3 1. The process of bremsstrahlung production is the result of collision between: A. Neutrons and a nucleus B. A high speed electron and the strong electric field near a nucleus C. A photon and a neutron D. A neutron and another neutron 2. Characteristic x-rays are produced when: A. an electron is converted into a photon B. an ejected neutron gives away excess energy to become stable C. an electron from an outer shell makes a transition to an inner shell D. None of the above 3. Hardening of x-ray beams refers to using filters to produce a beam of: A. greater intensity B. lower average energy photons C. higher average energy photons D. none of the above 4. X-ray tube targets are generally made of: A. Low Z material such as Al B. High Z material such as tungsten C. An alloy of lead and copper D. Complex organic compounds