CH186

Nuclear Chemistry Exam Questions

From Spring 2001 Semester

Useful constants:

Avogadro’s number (NA) = 6.022137 x 1023/mol

mass of proton = 1.007276 amu
mass of neutron = 1.008664 amu
mass of electron = 5.485799 x 10-4 amu
speed of light (c) = 3.0 x 108 m/s
6.022137 x 1023 amu = 1g
1 J = 1 kgm2/s2
1 eV = 1.602 x 10-19 J
1 Mev = 106 eV

1) Complete and balance each of the following nuclear reactions.

1 15 4
a. 1 H  __________ 7 N 2 He

b. __________ 01 e170

68 Er

3 7
c. 2 He  __________ 4 Be  

51 1 0
d. 23V  0 n  1 e  __________

91 0
e. 43Tc  1 e  __________

2) Predict the most likely type of radioactive decay process for each of the following
radionuclides. In each case, decay occurs only via beta emission, alpha emission, or
positron emission.

230
a. 90Th (All isotopes of thorium are radioactive.) ___________________

99 88
b. 38 Sr ( 38 Sr is stable and nonradioactive.) ____________________

c. 14
8O ( 168 O is stable and nonradioactive.) ____________________

55 51
d. 23V ( 23V is stable and nonradioactive.) ____________________

67 75
e. 33 As ( 33 As is stable and nonradioactive.) ____________________
3) Write balanced nuclear equations for each of the following processes.

a. bombardment of curium-246 (Cm) with carbon-12 produces nobelium-252

(No) and neutrons
b. positron emission by iron-53 (Fe)
c. electron capture by tellurium-111 (Te)
d. alpha emission by lawrencium-259 (Lr)
e. beta emission by platinum-201 (Pt)

4) In each of the following pairs, one of the nuclides is radioactive and the other is stable
and nonradioactive. Predict which is radioactive and which is stable, and explain your
choice briefly.

a. Y-90 or Zr-90
b. Cr-52 or Cr-49

5) Linen wrapped around the mummy of the great King Perseus of the ancient kingdom of
Orangello gave 12.8 disintegrations of 14C per minute per gram of carbon. Assuming that
the linen was less than a year old when used in the burial of the king, approximately how
many years ago did the old boy die? Carbon from present-day living material gives 15.3
disintegrations of 14C per minute per gram of carbon. The half-life of carbon-14 is 5.715
x 103 years.

6) The decay constant of gallium-67, a radioisotope used for imaging soft-tissue tumors, is
0.00886/hr (hr-1). Calculate the half-life, t1/2, in seconds (s) for 67Ga.

7) Calculate the mass defect for palladium-106. The atomic mass of the 106Pd nucleus is
105.87824 amu. Account briefly for the difference in mass observed.

8) Consider the fission reaction in which uranium-235 is bombarded by neutrons.

1
0 n+ 235
92 U 89
37 Rb + 144
58 Ce + 3 10 e + 3 01 n

The atomic masses (in amu) are 235.043924 for uranium-235, 88.912278 for rubidium-
89, 143.913643 for cerium-144, 5.485799 x 10-4 for the electron ( 10 e), and 1.008664 for
the neutron. Calculate the amount of energy released, E ( in kJ), when one gram of
uranium-235 undergoes this fission reaction.

9) A sample of phosphoric acid, H3PO4, known to contain a significant amount of

radioactive phosphorus-32, was accidentally spilled onto the lab floor. It was suggested
by one of the technicians in the lab that the radioactivity could be neutralized by reacting
the spilled acid with a base such as NaOH. Do you agree or disagree with this
suggestion? Explain your answer.
 Answers for Spring 2001 Nuclear Chemistry Exam Questions

18
1. a. 8O

170
b. 67 Ho

4
c. 2 He

52
d. 24 Cr

91
e. 42 Mo

2. a. alpha
b. beta
c. positron
d. beta
e. positron

246 12 1 252
3. a. 96 Cm  6 C 6 0 n  102 No

53 0 53
b. 26V 1 e 25 Mn

111 0 111
c. 52Te  1 e 51 Sb

259 4 255
d. 103 Lr  2 He 101 Md

201 0 201
e. 78 Pt 1 e 79 Au

4. a. Zr-90 is nonradioactive and Y-90 is radioactive. This is based on the fact

that Zr-90 has a magic number of neutrons (50) and even numbers of both protons
(40) and neutrons (50), whereas Y-90 does not.
b. Cr-52 is nonradioactive and Cr-49 is radioactive. This is based on the fact
that Cr-52 has a magic number of neutrons (28), whereas Cr-49 does not.

5. 1471 years
6. 2.82 x 105 seconds
7. 0.9763 amu
8. -7.62 x 107 kJ/g
9. Disagree. Nuclear reactions take place inside the nucleus and involve changes in the
nucleons. Chemical reactions take place outside the nucleus and involve valence
electrons. Thus, the reaction suggested by the technician will only neutralize the acidity
of the spilled acid, not the radioactivity of the P-32 in it. Nuclear reactions occur
regardless of the chemical state of the radioactive atom.
 Nuclear Chemistry Exam Questions
From Fall 1999 Semester

Useful constants:

Avogadro’s number (NA) = 6.022137 x 1023/mol

mass of proton = 1.007276 amu
mass of neutron = 1.008664 amu
mass of electron = 5.485799 x 10-4 amu
speed of light (c) = 3.0 x 108 m/s
6.022137 x 1023 amu = 1g
1 J = 1 kgm2/s2
1 eV = 1.602 x 10-19 J
1 Mev = 106 eV

1) a. Complete and balance each of the following nuclear reactions.

15
7 N+ 249
98 Cf  __________ + 4 01 n

79
33 As  __________ + 79
34 Se

__________  251
98 Cf + 42 He

54
27 Co  __________ + 0
1 e

b. Write balanced nuclear equations for each of the following processes.

41
electron capture by 20Ca
129
beta emission from 51 Sb
64
positron emission from 29 Cu
250
alpha emission from 100 Fm

2) Strontium-90 is one of the most hazardous products of atomic weapons testing because of
its long half-life (t1/2 = 28.1 years) and its tendency to accumulate in bones. Calculate the
decay constant of this isotope in reciprocal minutes, i.e. min-1 or 1/min?

3) An oil painting alleged by a dealer to be painted by Rembrandt (1606-1669) is subjected

to carbon-14 dating. The canvas of the painting shows an average of 14.68
disintegrations/min per gram of carbon. The carbon in living organisms today undergoes
an average of 15.3 disintegrations/min per gram. If the half-life of carbon-14 is 5730
years, could this painting be an original Rembrandt? Show your calculations to prove
your answer.
4) A typical induced fission reaction is

1
0 n+ 235
92 U 137
52 Te + 97
40 Zr + 2 01 n

Calculate the energy released by the overall fission reaction in kJ per gram of uranium-
235. The atomic masses are: 235 137 97
92 U = 235.0439 amu, 52 Te = 136.9254 amu, 40 Zr =

96.9110 amu.

5) Chemical reactions can often be used to change a toxic chemical into another compound
that is not as toxic. Why can’t chemical treatment technology be applied to make
radioactive nuclear waste harmless? Explain!
 Answers for Fall 1999 Nuclear Chemistry Exam Questions
260
1 a. 105 Unp
0
1 e
255
100 Fm
54
26 Fe

41
b. 41
20 Ca + 0
1 e  19 K

129
51 Sb  0
1 e+ 129
52 Te

64
29 Cu  01 e + 64
28 Ni

250
100 Fm  42 He + 246
98 Cf

2. 4.68 x 10-8/min
3. t = 342 years, yes
4. -7.62 x 107 kJ/g
5. Chemical reactions involve the valence electrons and bond-making/bond-breaking.
However, nuclear reactions take place in the nucleus of an atom. The nuclear reactions
of an isotope are the same regardless of its chemical form.
Practice Test - Nuclear Chemistry

True/False
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.

____ 1. The half-life of a radioisotope is the time it takes for that isotope
to decay.
____ 2. Carbon dating is not used to measure the age of rocks because the
half-life of carbon-14 is too short.
____ 3. The mass of a 25.0 g piece of 23896Cm (half-life: 2.4 hr) will be
reduced to 3.1 g after 7.2 hr.
____ 4. A nuclear reactor produces energy from fuel rods containing uranium-
238.
____ 5. The amount of energy produced for each kilogram of uranium is about
the same as the amount of energy from a kilogram of coal.
____ 6. The only elements that can be used as fuel in a nuclear power plant
are those in which a chain reaction can occur.
____ 7. The purpose of the control rods in a nuclear reactor is to reflect
neutrons back into the core.
____ 8. The production of energy in a nuclear reactor can be stopped by
pulling out all control rods.
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____ 9. A lightweight isotope is likely to be stable if the ratio of protons

to neutrons in its nucleus is _____.
a. 1:2. c. 2:1.
b. 1:1. d. 5:1.
____10. The only nucleon among the following is the _____.
a. electron. c. beta particle.
b. positron. d. neutron.
____11. The isotope least likely to be found in the band of stability among
the following is _____.
a. C. c. Al.
b. O. d. Si.

____12. The isotope formed by the beta decay of K has an atomic number of
_____.
a. 18. c. 20.
b. 39. d. 21.
____13. The isotope formed by the alpha decay of U has a mass number of
_____.
a. 234. c. 238.
b. 236. d. 240.
____14. During electron capture, a proton in the nucleus of an atom is
converted into a(n) _____.
a. neutron. c. electron.
b. positron. d. another proton.
____15. When the isotope Pa decays by beta emission, the isotope formed is
_____.
a. Ac. c. U.
b. Th. d. U.
____16. Atoms located above the band of stability on a graph of numbers of
neutrons versus number of protons are usually unstable because they
contain too many _____.
a. protons. c. electrons.
b. neutrons. d. nucleons.

Completion
Complete each statement.

17. The form of nuclear radiation that has the greatest penetrating power
is the ____________________ .
18. When a radioactive nucleus gives off a gamma ray, its atomic number
increases by ____________________.
19. Each alpha particle carries an electric charge of
____________________.
20. Each beta particle carries an electric charge of ____________________.
21. Each gamma ray carries an electric charge of ____________________.
 Use the following diagram to complete the passage.

In a nuclear power plant, energy is produced in the reactor core by

fission reactions that occur in uranium-containing bars called (1)
____________________. The uranium is found at location (2)
____________________ in the diagram. The rate at which the nuclear
reaction takes place is controlled by other bars called (3)
___________________. These bars of metal are found at location (4)
____________________. One of the important safety factors in the power
plant is a strong dome-shaped structure surrounding the reactor. The
structure is labeled (5) ____________________ in this diagram and
called (6) ____________________.
Heat produced by nuclear fission is carried away by (7)
____________________, which enters the core at point (8)
____________________ in the diagram. It then leaves the core at point
(9) ____________________.
Heat from the reactor core is used to boil water in the (10)
____________________, shown at (11) ____________________ in the
diagram. Steam produced here is used to generate electricity at point
(12) ____________________ in the diagram. The steam is then cooled at
location (13) ____________________ by water from an outside source.

Provide the missing term in each of the following equations.

23. ____________________
 24. + ____________________

25. ____________________

Short Answer

The equations below represent nuclear fission and nuclear fusion

reactions. For each equation, tell whether fission or fusion has
occurred and write the missing term in the equation.

26. _____

27.

28.

29.

Problem

Write a complete nuclear equation for each of the following.

30. The decay of Fe by beta emission.

31. The decay of by alpha emission.

32. The decay of by electron capture.

33. The decay of by positron emission.

34. The radioisotope technetium-99 is often used as a radiotracer to

detect disorders of the body. It has a half-life of 6.01 hours. If a
patient received a 25.0-mg dose of this isotope during a medical
procedure, how much would remain 48.0 hours after the dose was given?
Practice Test - Nuclear Chemistry
Answer Section

TRUE/FALSE

1. F
2. T
3. T
4. F
5. F
6. T
7. F
8. F

MULTIPLE CHOICE

9. B
10. D
11. C
12. C
13. A
14. A
15. D
16. B

COMPLETION

17. gamma ray

18. 0
19. +2
20. -1
21. 0
22. H
23.
24.
25.

SHORT ANSWER

26. , fusion
27. , fission
28. , fusion
29. , fission

PROBLEM
30.
31.
32.
33.
34. 0.098 mg