Nuclei

1. What is nuclear physics?

2. List the properties of (i) nucleus (ii) proton (iii) neutron.
3. What is amu? Give its equivalent in kg.
4. Give the rest masses of proton, neutron, electron in terms of amu and kg.
5. Which particles have almost similar masses?
6. What is a neutrino?
7. Why is it found extremely difficult to detect neutrinos in the decay processes?
8. What are nucleons?
9. Two nuclei have mass numbers in the ratio 1: 8. What is the ratio of their nuclear radii?
10. Nuclear density is independent of its atomic mass number. Elaborate on this statement.
OR
Show that the density of the nucleus is independent of its mass number.
11. How the size of a nucleus is experimentally determined? Write the relation between the
radius and mass number of the nucleus.
12. Obtain approximately the ratio of the nuclear radii of the gold isotope and the silver
isotope. What is the ratio of their nuclear densities?
13. Two nuclei have mass numbers in the ratio 8:125. What is
14. Define radioactivity
15. Who discovered radioactivity?
16. What are the contributions of Marie and Pierre Curie?
17. State Radioactive law of disintegration? Give its mathematical form and arrive at
N= N0e-t.
18. What does the minus sign in the expression N= N0e-t signify?
19. What is activity? Give an expression to estimate the activity of a radioactive element.
20. Describe the units of activity.
21. Define Give its unit.
22. Give the properties of alpha, beta and gamma radiations.
23. What is (i) alpha decay (ii) beta decay (iii) gamma decay with one example each?
24. Define Half-life. Derive an expression for it with the relevant graph?
25. What is the unit of half-life?
26. Define mean life and give its relation to half-life and  Give its unit.
27. Plutonium decays with half life of 24000 years. If plutonium is stored for 72000 years,
what is the fraction of it that remains ?
28. The radioactive decay of uranium into thorium is represented by the equation

→ +x. What is x?

29. A nucleus undergoes through α-decay and transforms to thorium. What is

i. the mass number
ii. Atomic number of the daughter nucleus produced?

30. Define (i) Mass defect (i) binding energy (iii) Binding energy per nucleon.
31. The mass of a nucleus in the ground state is always less than the total mass of its
constituent nucleons, explain.
32. Give the salient features of the binding energy curve.
OR
Draw a plot of the binding energy per nucleon as a function of mass number for a
large number of nuclei 20 < A < 240. How do you explain the constancy of binding
energy per nucleon in the range of 30 < A < 170 using the property that nuclear
force is short-ranged?
33. A nucleus with mass number A = 240 and BE/A= 7.6 MeV breaks into two
fragments each of A = 120 with BE/ A= 8.5 MeV. Calculate the released energy.
34. List the properties of nuclear forces
35. Draw a plot of potential energy between a pair of nucleons as a function of their
separation. Mark the regions where potential energy is

a. positive and
b. Negative.
36. Explain by giving necessary reactions, how energy is released during (i) fission
(ii) fusion?
OR
Distinguish between nuclear fission and fusion. Show how in both these
processes energy is released.
37. A given coin has a mass of 3.0 g. Calculate the nuclear energy that would be
required to separate all the neutrons and protons from each other. For simplicity
assume that the coin is entirely made of atoms ( of mass 62.92960 u)
38. Calculate the energy release in MeV in the deuterium-tritium fusion reaction.
+⟶+n
Using the data
m()=2.014102u, m()=3.016049u
m()=4.002603u, m(n)=1.008665u
1u =931.5
39. Which nuclear process is called a thermonuclear reaction? Why?
40. State reason why heavy water is generally used as a moderator in a nuclear
reactor
41. A radioactive nucleus ‘A’ undergoes a series of decays according to the scheme:
A A1 A2 A4
 The mass number and atomic number of A are 190 and 75 respectively. What
are these numbers for A4.
42. Complete the following nuclear reactions.
(a) + +…….
(b) + + ………
43. If both the number of protons and neutrons are conserved in a nuclear reaction
then in what way is mass converted to energy or vice versa. Explain giving
example.
44. Two radioactive sample have the same number of atoms at t= 0 . Their half-lives
are 3h and 4h respectively. Compare the rates of disintegration of the two nuclei
after 12 hours.
45. How long will a radioactive isotope with half-life T years take for its activity to
reduce to 1/8th of its initial value?
46. Plot a graph showing number (N) of undecayed nuclei as a function of time (t) for
a given radioactive sample having half-life T1/2. Depict the number of undecayed
nuclei at (i) t = 3T1/2 and (ii) t = 5T1/2
47. When a nucleus (X) undergoes - decay, and transforms to the nucleus (Y) , does
the pair (X,Y) form isotopes, isobars, or isotones? Justify your answer.

Solve all the questions of the exercise in textbook.

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