Atomic Structure Quiz

Use the word bank to fill in the missing word. Each word will be used once.

Atomic number Mass number protons

Electrons Isotope neutron

1. The atomic number tells you how many ________________________ and

____________________ are in an atom.
2. The bold, whole number found on the periodic table is called the
__________________________. It is unique for each element.
3. The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom is called the
_____________________________________.
4. An atom with the same number of protons but different number of neutrons is called an
_____________________________.
5. The subatomic particle that has no charge is called a ________________________.
6. Fill in the following chart

Atomic Mass Number Number of Number of Number of Symbol of

Number Protons Neutrons Electrons Element
6 13
25 12
175 84
13 15

1. How much of a 100. gram sample of 198Au is left after 8.10 days if its half-life is 2.70 days?

2. A 50.0 gram sample decays to 12.5 grams in 14.4 seconds. What is its half-life?

3. Complete the following nuclide reactions:

0 0
1 1 
238 234 14 60
(a) 92 U  90 Th + (b) 6C  …….. + (c)  Ni +
…….. ………. 28

9. Fig. 9.1 shows the graph of the count rate from a radioactive source over a period of time. The readings
have already had the background count rate subtracted.
 Fig. 9.1
(a) From Fig. 9.1, find the time taken for the count rate to decrease from 1000 counts / s to 125 counts / s.

time = .............................................. s [1]

(b) How many half-lives of the radioactive material were there during the time interval in (a)?

number of half lives = .................................................. [1]

(c) From your answers to (a) and (b), calculate the half-life of the material.

half-life = .............................................. s [2]

(5) The mass of the cylinder is 800 g. The heater delivers 8700 J of thermal energy to the cylinder and the
temperature of the cylinder increases by 12 °C.
Calculate a value for the specific heat capacity of aluminium.
 (a) Indicate the deflection, if any, of the α-particles, β-particles and -rays, by placing one tick in each
column of the table.

[ 3]
(b) α-particles are more strongly ionising and have a shorter range in air than -rays.
Use your knowledge of the nature of these radiations to explain these differences.
.........................................................................................................................................................................
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...................................................................................................................................................................[3]
12. Radioactive carbon-14 ( C) decays by emitting β-particles.
(a) What are the values of the proton and nucleon numbers of carbon-14?
proton number ...............................................................
nucleon number ........................................................... [2]
(b) Carbon-14 is absorbed by living organisms. When the organism dies, no more carbon-14 is absorbed.
The carbon-14 already absorbed decays with a half-life of 5730 years. Recent human skeletons have an
activity of 64 units, but a human skeleton dug up by an archaeologist has an activity of 8 units.
Determine the age of this ancient skeleton.

age = ...........................................................[2]
[Total:4]
13. A technician sets up a radiation detector in a university laboratory, for use in some experiments. Even
before the radioactive source for the experiment is brought into the laboratory, the detector registers a low
count rate.
(a) Suggest what causes this count rate.
....................................................................................................................................................................[1]

(b) A radioactive source that emits α-particles is placed on the laboratory bench and the source is gradually
moved closer to the detector. At first, the detector continues to register a low count rate sometimes slightly
less than the count rate registered without the source. The count rate suddenly increases to a very high value
when the source is very close to the detector.
Explain these changes in the count rate.
.........................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................
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....................................................................................................................................................................[3]
14. The IGCSE class is investigating the rate of cooling of water. Fig. 14.1 shows the apparatus.

Fig. 14.1
(a) Record room temperature θR as shown on the thermometer in Fig. 14.2.

Fig. 14.2.
θR = ........................................[1]
(b) A student pours hot water into the test-tube until it is about two thirds full of water and places the
thermometer in the water. When the thermometer reading stops rising, she measures the temperature θ of the
water and records θ in Table 14.1 at time t = 0. She starts a stopclock and records in the table the time t and
the temperature θ of the water every 30 s. She removes the thermometer and pours away the water from the
test-tube. She then wraps cotton wool insulation round the test-tube and repeats the procedure.

(i) Complete the time and temperature column headings in the table.

(ii) Complete the time column in the table.

Table 14.1

[3]
(c) State in which experiment the cooling is more rapid. Justify your answer by reference to the readings.
experiment ....................................................................................................................................................
justification ....................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................[2]
(d) If these experiments were to be repeated in order to check the results, it would be important to control
the conditions. Suggest two conditions that should be controlled.
1. .....................................................................................................................................................................
2. ................................................................................................................................................................[2]
(e) Suggest two alternative insulating materials that could be used in place of cotton wool.
1. .....................................................................................................................................................................
2. ................................................................................................................................................................[2]
3. Some water in a glass beaker is heated from below, as shown in Fig. 3.1.

Fig. 3.1
(a) Name the process by which thermal energy is transferred
(i) through the glass, .....................................................................................................
(ii) throughout the water. ................................................................................................ [2]

(b) As thermal energy is supplied, the temperature of the water begins to rise. Although the supply of
energy remains constant, eventually the temperature becomes steady at about 80°C.
Suggest why this happens.

.........................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................... [1]
(c) The rate of energy supply is increased. The temperature of the water begins to rise again, but eventually
becomes steady at a higher temperature. This time many bubbles are seen throughout the water.

(i) State what is now happening to the water.

................................................................................................................................................................... [1]
(ii) What gas do the bubbles contain? Tick one box. [1]

4. Atoms contain protons, neutrons and electrons. State which of these three.
(a) has a negative charge, ..........................................................................................................................[1]
(b) is uncharged,.........................................................................................................................................[1]
(c) is outside the nucleus,............................................................................................................................[1]
8. Fig. 8.1 shows a common laboratory instrument.

Fig. 8.1

(a) State the name of this instrument.

................................................................................................................................................................... [1]
(b) What does this instrument measure?
................................................................................................................................................................... [1]
(c) Suggest the liquid that this instrument contains.
................................................................................................................................................................... [1]
(d) What must be done in order to make the instrument give a zero reading?
........................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................[2]
(e) What happens within the instrument to make it give a reading larger than zero?
........................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................. [1]
1. A particular nuclide of chlorine can be represented by the symbol shown.
37
17 Cl
How many electrons are there in a neutral atom of this nuclide?

A. 17 B. 20 C. 37 D. 54
2. Compared with β-particles and γ-rays, α-particles
A. are the only type of radiation to carry a charge.
B. have the greatest ionising effect.
C. have the greatest penetrating effect.
D. have the smallest mass
3. An ice cube at a temperature of 0 °C is put into a drink at a temperature of 10 °C. After a short time, some
of the ice has melted and the drink has cooled to a temperature of 8 °C. What is the temperature of the
remaining ice?

A. 0 °C B. 2 °C C. 4 °C D. 8 °C
4. A radioactive substance has a half-life of 2 weeks. At the beginning of an investigation, a sample
of the substance emits 3000 β-particles per minute. How many β-particles will it emit per minute after 6
weeks?

A. 0 B. 375 C. 500 D. 1500

5. Which row shows the relative ionising effects and penetrating abilities of α-particles and β-particles?
6. Small smoke particles suspended in air are viewed through a microscope. The smoke particles move
randomly. What does this show?

A. The air consists of fast-moving molecules.

B .The pressure of the air is increasing.
C. There are convection currents in the air.
D. The temperature of the air is increasing.
7. Which row is correct for the evaporation of a liquid?

8. One method of heat transfer involves the energy travelling at a much greater speed than in other
methods. What is the name of this method?

A. conduction B. convection C. evaporation D. radiation

9. The diagram shows four markings on a liquid-in-glass thermometer.

Which temperatures are the upper and lower fixed points?

10. Which quantity gives the thermal capacity of a solid object?

A. the energy lost by radiation from the object in 1.0 s
B. the energy needed to melt the object
C. the energy needed to raise the temperature of the object by 1.0 °C
D. the total amount of thermal energy in the object
11. To mark a temperature scale on a thermometer, standard temperatures known as fixed points are
needed. Which of these is a fixed point on the Celsius scale?

A. room temperature
B. the temperature inside a freezer
C.the temperature of pure melting ice
D. the temperature of pure warm water

12. A cotton sheet is ironed with a hot electric iron. How is energy transferred through the metal base of the
iron to the sheet?

A. by conduction only
B. by convection only
C. by radiation only
D. by convection and radiation only

13. A nucleus of element X is represented as X . Which is an isotope of element X?

14. The charge on a proton is e. What is the charge on an electron and what is the charge on a neutron?

15. Brownian motion is observed by looking at smoke particles through a microscope. How do the smoke
particles move in Brownian motion?

A. all in the same direction

B. at random
C .in circles
D. vibrating about fixed points

16. A solid is heated from room temperature. The graph shows how its temperature changes with time as it
is heated constantly.
Between which labelled points on the graph is the substance partly solid and partly liquid?

A. between P and Q
B. between Q and R
C. between R and S
D. between S and T

17. A radioactive isotope is placed near a detector. The readings on the detector are corrected for
background radiation and recorded every hour. The table shows the corrected readings.

What is the half-life of the isotope?

A. between 0 and 1 hour
B. between 1 hour and 2 hours
C. between 2 hours and 3 hours
D. between 3 hours and 4 hours
18. The table gives the melting points and boiling points of glycerine and benzene.

At which temperature will both glycerine and benzene be liquid?

A. 0 °C B. 50 °C C. 100 °C D. 150 0C
19. The graph shows the temperature of a substance as it is heated steadily.
In which part of the graph is the substance boiling?
Marking Scheme

Q. A container contains 300 g of water at 25 °C. The heater in the container operates at 240 V. The
specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J / (kg °C). The current in the heater is 10 A. Calculate the time
taken for the temperature of the water to rise to 85 °C.