ENERGY AND NUCLEAR PHYSICS

Question 1

What is the structure of a nucleus?

Answer 1

Neutrons and protons held together by the strong nuclear force

Question 2

What are the properties of the strong nuclear force?

Answer 2

Strong, attractive, independent of charge and has a very short range force

Question 3

What happens to atoms when they have more than 82 protons and why?

Answer 3

They become unstable, thus releasing alpha particles thus becoming radioactive. This occurs because there is a limit to how many neutrons can be packed around a given proton. Above 83 protons, the strong nuclear force will always be beaten by the repulsive positive force of the protons.

Question 4

Which nuclei have the correct balance between the number of protons and neutrons to be stable?

Answer 4

Only around the first 10

Question 5

Which particle is emitted during alpha decay

Answer 5

a helium nucleus

Question 6

On an N vs Z graph, why does the line of stability curvy so that N (neutrons) is greater than Z

Answer 6

As the amount of protons increases (repulsive force), the amount of extra neutrons to balance the force are needed.

Question 7

What happens when both antimatter particles collide?

Answer 7

Both particles annihilate eachother and release energu

Question 8

The mass number is the…

Answer 8

Amount of total particles in the nucleus

Question 9

The atomic number is…

Answer 9

The amount of protons the atom has

Question 10

Alpha decay occurs when….why>

Answer 10

The atomic number of an atom is above 83. This is because the unstable nucleus is attempting to stabilise.

Question 11

Beta Minus decay occurs when…

Answer 11

a radioactive nuclei that are unstable because they have too many neutrons relative to the number of protons.

Question 12

Beta Minus decay is the process of…

Answer 12

when one of the excess neutrons in the nucleus decays into a proton as well as releasing from the nucleus a beta particle or electron.

Question 13

Beta plus decay occurs when…

Answer 13

a nucleus has too many protons to be stable and one of the protons decay to form a neutron with a byproduct being a positron. or positive electron. Which is ejected from the nucleus.

Question 14

An alpha particle consists of…

Answer 14

2 protons and 2 neutrons

Question 15

Chemical energy requires?

Answer 15

A chemical reaction to release the energy

Question 16

Gravitational potential energy requires… to complete the actin

Answer 16

gravity

Question 17

Kinetic energy is?

Answer 17

The energy which any moving object has

Question 18

Kinetic energy depends on?

Answer 18

the objects mass and instantaneous speed

Question 19

What is the measurement value which energy is measured in?

Answer 19

Joules

Question 20

Anything that can fall has?

Answer 20

Gravitational potential energy

Question 21

The amount of gravitational potential energy an object has depends on?

Answer 21

Its mass, how far it can fall and the acceleration of gravity

Question 22

State the law of conservation of energy:

Answer 22

The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed - only converted from one form of energy to another. This means that a system always has the same amount of energy, unless it’s added from the outside.