Aga Khan High School, Kampala

IB2 PHYSICS MCQ ON ATOMIC AND NUCLEAR PHYSICS

1. Which of the following lists of energy sources are all classed as renewable resources?

A. Coal, wind, nuclear.

B. Nuclear, geothermal, tidal.

C. Wave, Tidal, Hydroelectric.

D. Natural gas, hydroelectric, tidal.

2. Which of the answers below gives the correct units used for specific energy and the energy density of a
fuel?

3. A block of solid fuel X has twice the specific energy of fuel Y. In order to release the same quantity of
energy on efficient burning, how much of fuel Y needs to be used?

A. Twice the volume of fuel X

B. Half the volume of fuel X

C. Twice the mass of fuel X

D. Half the mass of fuel X

4. A power station that is 40% efficient produces 12 MW of wasted thermal energy when in operation.
What is the useful power output of the plant?

A. 18 MW

B. 15 MW

C. 9 MW

D. 8 MW

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A small hydroelectric plant is rated as being only 20 % efficient. The energy output each second is shown in the
sankey diagram below. Use this information to answer questions 5 and 6.

5. Which of the answers below best describes the missing labels X and Y?

6. The flow rate through the turbine and generator in a hydroelectric plant is dependent on a large reservoir
of water. The pipe feeding the turbines is placed at the bottom of the reservoir. Which of the following
variables will have no effect on the flow rate?

A. The depth of the reservoir.

B. The drop in height of the water flowing from the reservoir through the turbines.

C. The width of the reservoir.

D. The pressure at the bottom of the reservoir.

A wind turbine produces a power output of 0.1 MW. Use this information to answer questions 7 and 8.

7. What is the energy output over an hour in joules, assuming the power output is constant?

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8. An identical design of wind turbine is nearby, in wind of the same velocity but with 3 times the
diameter. If the efficiency of both turbines is the same, what is the output of the larger generator?

A. 0.1 MW

B. 0.3 MW

C. 0.9 MW

D. 5.4 MW

9. In a nuclear power station, what is the function of the moderator?

A. To slow down neutrons to a suitable speed for fission to occur.

B. To absorb neutrons to prevent the chain reaction accelerating.

C. To transfer thermal energy from the core to the secondary cooling system.

D. To absorb neutrons and other ionising radiation from the core for safety.

10. Nuclear power has many advantages and disadvantages. Which of these best describes the advantages?

A. High output, reliable (24 hrs a day), renewable energy source.

B. No waste products, reliable (24 hrs a day), high power output.

C. No greenhouse gas emissions, high power output, reliable (24 hrs a day).

D. Low construction costs, no greenhouse gas emissions, high power output.

11. Which one of the following methods of thermal energy transfer is most effective through solids?

A. Conduction.

B. Convection.

C. Radiation.

D. Evaporation.
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12. Which of the following is the best definition of the 'albedo' of a body?

A. The fraction of radiation scattered compared to the incident radiation.

B. The fraction of radiation absorbed compared to the incident radiation.

C. The fraction of radiation reflected compared to a black body.

D. The fraction of radiation reabsorbed compared to a black body.

13. What is the accepted average value of the Earth's albedo?

A. 0.3

B. 0.4

C. 0.6

D. 0.7

14. The 'solar constant' is a key value for considering global warming and the greenhouse effect. The value
for Earth is taken to be about 1.4 kWm–2. Which of these best describes the solar constant?

A. The intensity of radiation from the Sun reflected by the Earth's atmosphere.

B. The intensity of radiation from the Sun reflected by the Earth's surface.

C. The intensity of radiation from the Sun incident on the Earth's atmosphere.

D. The intensity of radiation from the Sun absorbed by the Earth's surface.

The graph below shows the how the intensity of radiation varies at different wavelengths for a given body. Use
this information to answer questions 15 – 17.

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15. Which of the answers below best describes this radiation spectrum?

A. The emission of radiation at different wavelengths from a perfect black body.

B. The absorption of radiation at different wavelengths by the Earth.

C. The transmission of radiation at different wavelengths through the Earth's atmosphere.

D. The reflection of radiation at different wavelengths by the Earth's surface and atmosphere.

16. The radiation graph shown above is characteristic of a certain temperature. What happens to the height
and position of the peak as the temperature falls?

17. The peak wavelength in the graph above is at a wavelength of 2.9 x 10-6 m. This corresponds to a
temperature of

A. 103 oC

B. 10–3 oC

C. 10–3 K

D. 103 K

18. A nearby star is twice the temperature of the Sun, but with only half the total surface area. What is the
total power output of this star compared to the power output of the Sun (PSun)?

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19. Which of the following is a major greenhouse gas in the atmosphere?

A. Water vapour

B. Helium

C. Nitrogen

D. Oxygen

20. Carbon dioxide is a major greenhouse gas. Which of the following statements best describes the action
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

A. It absorbs a wide spectrum of radiation from the Earth, and then re-radiates this in all directions.

B. It absorbs a selective spectrum of radiation from the Earth, and then re-radiates this in all
directions.

C. It absorbs a wide spectrum of radiation from the Earth, and then re-radiates this back down to
Earth.

D. It absorbs a selective spectrum of radiation from the Earth, and then re-radiates this back down to
Earth.

21. Many power stations produce CO2 .Which one of these does not?

A. Coal

B. Oil

C. Nuclear

D. Biomass

22. Which one of these statements about power stations is true?

A. Continuous conversion of thermal energy into work in a cyclical process can be 100% efficient.

B. Degraded thermal energy can be used to produce useful work.

C. The efficiency of a power station is typically 70%.

D. Electrical energy is generated by rotating coils in a magnetic field in a generator.

23. “Energy density” is defined as

A. the fraction of total energy available by combustion

B. the energy per unit volume

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 C. the energy per unit mass

D. the total energy available per mole

24. Which of these answers correctly describes the uses and properties of the 3 fossil fuels?

25. Photovoltaic cells are not in widespread use. Which one of these is not a reason for this?

A. High start-up costs

B. Low output per square meter

C. Inefficient

D. Lack of available suitable locations worldwide

26. Which of these answers correctly describes the transportation and storage problems associated with
fossil fuels?

27. The output of a solar panel in Norway is less than that in Egypt because

A. There are less total daylight hours over a year.

B. The intensity of radiation is less.

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 C. The solar constant is lower in Norway.

D. The albedo of the Earth is greater in Norway.

28. A hydroelectric scheme converts

A. gravitational to kinetic to electrical energy

B. kinetic to electrical energy

C. gravitational to mechanical energy

D. kinetic to gravitational to electrical energy

29. Which of these energy resources has the Sun as the original energy source?

A. geothermal

B. tidal

C. wave

D. nuclear

30. A wind generator can never be 100% efficient because

A. some of the air flow will retain some kinetic energy

B. the generator must be switched off in high wind speeds

C. some air will hit the generator support

D. some air will pass underneath the blades

31. A horizontal axis wind turbine of radius r is producing power with a wind speed of velocity v. In theory,
if the wind speed AND radius of the turbine are both doubled, the power output will be increased by a
factor of

A. 64

B. 32

C. 16

D. 8

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32. Which of these answers correctly describes the action of control rods and moderator in a nuclear power
station?

33. The emissivity of a planet surface is defined as

A. the ratio of the power of reflected radiation to the incident radiation

B. the ratio of the power of absorbed radiation to the incident radiation

C. the ratio of the power of radiation emitted that is reabsorbed by the atmosphere

D. the ratio of the power of radiation emitted to that radiated by a black body

34. Which of the following substances is likely to have a high albedo?

A. ice

B. water

C. sand

D. concrete

35. The Earth presents a circular cross-section to the Sun, receiving radiation all year. However this
radiation is spread over the entire sphere of the Earth's surface, reducing the average annual intensity by
a factor of

A. 8

B. 4

C. 2

D. 1 (no reduction)

36. Black body radiation is the name given to radiation emitted by a hot body. The graph below shows the
distribution of radiation emitted.
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 If the temperature of a body is doubled, how does this affect the total power output and the peak
wavelength?

37. These 2 planets are radiating energy. Both have the same emissivity and have no atmosphere.

Planet X has a surface temperature of 200 K and has 16 times the surface are of Y. If both planets
radiate the same power into space, planet Y must have a surface temperature of

A. 12.5 K

B. 400 K

C. 1600 K

D. 3200 K

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38. Which one of these is not a major atmospheric greenhouse gas?

A. Carbon dioxide

B. Water vapour

C. Nitrogen

D. Methane

39. Which of these statements best describes the absorption of radiation by a greenhouse gas?

A. it absorbs a wide spectrum of infra-red radiation

B. it only absorbs narrow bands of infra- red radiation

C. it absorbs a wide spectrum of visible light radiation

D. it only absorbs narrow bands of visible light radiation

40. Greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere will have several effects on the Earth. As the greenhouse
effect increases, what will be the effect on the average global temperature and the mean power radiated
into space?

END
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