Test Your Knowledge

We request that you only take this test once, after you have read through all of our texts. All the material on this test is contained within them.

If you achieve a high score, we will request your name, and it will be placed in our hall of fame.

1. What is an alpha particle?
A. A highly energized electron
B. An He-4 nucleus
C. Radiant energy
D. Highly radioactive isotope


2. When it is not energetically feasible to convert a proton into a neutron through Beta+ decay, what process can occur?
A. Gamma radiation
B. Beta- Decay
C. Electron Capture
D. Positron emmission


3. What is the process where gamma rays transfer some of their energy to electrons?
A. Internal conversion
B. Radioactive Decay
C. mass - energy conversion
D. Gamma radiation


4. In the process electron capture, which orbital does the nucleus usually capture an electron from?
A. S orbital
B. D orbital
C. F orbital
D. K orbital


5. What is another name for the U238 - Radium226 decay series?
A. 2n series
B. 4n+2 series
C. 4n+3 series
D. 2n+3 series


6. How long does it take for death occur after exposure to 10,000 to 15,000 rads of radiation?
A. Few minutes
B. Few hours
C. Few days
D. Few weeks


7. What is a RAD (Radiation Absorbed Dose)?
A. Amount of radiation that puts 100,0J of energy in 1kg of absorbing material
B. Amount of radiation that puts 100J of energy in 1kg of absorbing material
C. Amount of radiation that puts 10J of energy in 1kg of absorbing material
D. Amount of radiation that puts 1J of energy in 1kg of absorbing material


8. What particles are released from the nucleus in Beta- decay?
A. anti-neutrino, electron
B. anti-neutrino, positron
C. neutrino, electron
D. neutrino, positron


9. Which of the following IS NOT a quark?
A. strange
B. charm
C. humor
D. beauty


10. What quarks is a proton composed of?
A. charm-charm-strange
B. truth-truth-up
C. up-up-down
D. up-down-down


11. What is the order, from least to greatest, of the mass of protons, neutrons, and electrons?
A. proton < electron < neutron
B. electron < neutron < proton
C. neutron < proton < electron
D. electron < proton < neutron


12. What is the atomic number?
A. Number of protons in nucleus
B. Number of neutrons in nucleus
C. Total mass of atom
D. Total mass of nucleus


13. In gaseous diffusion, a uranium enrichment process, what is uranium combined with?
A. Flourine
B. Chlorine
C. Nitrogen
D. Sulfur


14. In a nuclear reactor, what is the purpose of control rods?
A. They add more uranium fuel to the core
B. They carry water and help cool the reactor core
C. They increase or decrease the rate of fission
D. They release neutrons to speed up the reaction


15. In a nuclear reactor, what is the purpose of a moderator?
A. To moderate the amount of cooling water
B. To prevent the release of too many neutrons
C. To slow down the speed of neutrons
D. To prevent the generation of too much electricity


16. Which reactor uses a one step water cycle; where radioactive water is used to turn the turbine?
A. Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)
B. Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
C. Heavy Water Reactor (HWR)
D. Thermonuclear Fusion Reactor


17. Which Reactor can use un-enriched uranium fuel?
A. Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)
B. Boiling Water Reactor(BWR)
C. Heavy Water Reactor (HWR)
D. Thermonuclear Fusion Reactor


18. In naturally occurring uranium deposits, which of the following is the most abundant?
A. U235
B. U238
C. Boron
D. Lead


19. Which of the following IS NOT a fissile isotope?
A. U238
B. Pu239
C. Th232
D. U235


20. Spent nuclear rods are initially placed in a pool containing what?
A. Carbonic acid
B. Sulfluric acid
C. Hydrochloric acid
D. Boric acid


21. Which of the following is a method for temporary storage of nuclear wastes?
A. Pools
B. Ionization
C. Dry Cask Storage
D. A & C


22. Which of the following is the most promising option for permanent fuel storage?
A. Deep geological disposal
B. Buried waste under ocean floor
C. Outerspace disposal
D. Concrete bunkres


23. What is the fissile material in a fision bomb surrounded by?
A. Neutron guns
B. Control rods
C. conventional explosives
D. Titanium


24. The vast majority of radiation in nuclear waste is given of by?
A. Neutron-absorbing control rods
B. Fuel rods
C. Radioactive coolant
D. U238


25. Which is a fission bi-product of U235?
A. Lanthanum 138 (La)
B. Strontium 90 (Sr)
C. Scandium 45 (Sc)
D. Xenon 131 (Xe)


26. What is the biggest transuranic waste produced?
A. Np241
B. Am241
C. U240
D. Pu239


27. Which transuranic waste produced in a nuclear reactor can be used as fuel?
A. Pu239
B. Am241
C. Np241
All of the above.


28. The tailings produced from uranium mining are generally:
A. Short lived and high level waste
B. Short lived and low level waste
C. Long lived and low level waste
D. Long lived and high level waste


29. How do parts of a nuclear reactor become contaminated (radioactive)?
A. The gamma rays emmitted from the core cause parts to become radioactive
B. Free neutrons cause fission to occurr with the reactor's parts
C. Radioactive atoms hit the parts and get stuck to them
D. The core's immense heat causes the parts to become radioactive


30. What is an isotope?
A. Atoms with same number of neutrons but different number of protons
B. Atoms with same atomic number but different atomic mass
C. Atoms with same number of protons but different number of electrons
d. Atoms with same atomic mass but different atomic number


31. What does the triple-alpha process produce?
A. C-12
B. Be-8
C. Ne-20
D. Mg-24


32. What is nucleosynthesis?
A. The process of forming heavier elements with the fusion of He-4
B. Process of creating protons from neutrons
C. Creating an atom from individual nucleons.
D. The fusion of hydrogen and deutrium


33. What is the heaviest element which can form through the process of nucleosynthesis?
A. Uranium
B. Plutonium
C. Iron
D. Barium


34. What is binding energy?
A. Energy required to disassociate an electron from an atom
B. Energy needed to decompose a nucleus into its individual nucleons
C. Energy required to fuse two atoms together
D. Energy needed to bind two protons together


35. What is the conversion factor (MeV) used in calculating the binding energy?
A. 3 x 10^8 MeV/amu
B. 931.5 MeV/amu
C. 1.007825 MeV/amu
D. 6.02 x 10^23 MeV/amu


36. Which of the following is a step in the proton-proton reaction?
A. H-2 + H-1 -> H-3 + gamma ray
B. C-13 + He-4 -> O-16 + neutron
C. C-12 + H-1 N-13 + gamma ray
D. He-4 + He-4 -> Be-8 + gamma ray


37. Which element acts as a catalyst in the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen (CNO) cycle?
A. carbon
B. nitrogen
C. oxygen
D. hydrogen


38. What reaction occurrs in stars when there is no more hydrogen?
A. CNO cycle
B. proton-proton reaction
C. Triple alpha process
D. Fission


39. What is a high temperature breeder reactor?
A. Creates nuclear fuel by fusing lighter elements in triple alpha process
B. Causes most transuranic nuclear wastes to fission
C. A reactor which produces more uranium fuel
D. A & B


40. How does the EBR-II reactor make 239Pu fission?
A. Has a high reactor temperature
B. Uses extra neutrons to bombard it with
C. Increases the speed of neutrons by disabling the moderator
D. Isolates the plutonium waste in a second core and fissions it


41. What is the quantity of a mole?
A. 66.02 x 10^25
B. 6.02 x 10^23
C. 931.5
D. 25,000


42. How many grams of a 1000g sample of Plutonium-239 will be left after 42,220 years? Plutonium has a half-life of 21,110 years.
A. 4,000g
B. 2,000g
C. 500g
D. 250g


43. What is the process of reaction that occurrs in stars from birth to Red Giant?
A. proton-proton reaction; fusion between H and other light metals; CNO cycle
B. fusion between H and other light metals; proton-proton reaction; CNO cycle
C. CNO cycle; proton-proton reaction; triple-alpha process
D. proton-proton reaction; triple-alpha process; CNO cycle;


44. In what stage of the life of star does the triple-alpha process begin?
A. Red Giant
B. White Dwarf
C. Supernova
D. Neutron star


45. After the red giant phase, a star can become either
A. A white dwarf or a supernova
B. A neutron star or a pulsar
C. A planetary nebula or a white dwarf
D. A black hole or a white dwarf


46. Why can't supernovas fuse iron to make more energy?
A. Iron is too heavy to fuse
B. Iron has a high bonding energy
C. Iron isn't radioactive
D. Iron is too unstable to be present in stars


47. Which of the following is in the correct order for the life cycle of a star?
A. White dwarf then Supernova then Neutron Star
B. Planetary nebula then White dwarf then Supernova
C. Pulsar then Neutron star then Supernova
D. Planetary nebula then Neutron star then Black hole


48. Which of the following is not a benefit of fusion energy?
A. Fusion has no waste products
B. A very abundant supply of energy
C. No creation of weapons-grade material
D. No chance of runaway reactions leading to accidents


49. Which can not be used for plasma confinement?
A. Gravity
B. Magnetic Fields
C. Inertia
D. A Closed Room


50. What are the products of the deuterium-tritium reaction?
A. Lithium-7
B. Deuterium
C. helium-4 and a neutron
D. helium-4, a positron, and a neutrino


Developed
 By
Students for Thinkquest
© Thinkquest 98, Team 17940
All Rights Reserved