Chapter 19 Atomic model

Date: _____________
Section A: Multiple Choice Questions

1 Which of the following is / are deduced from the Rutherford’s scattering experiment?
(1) There are neutrons inside the nucleus.
(2) α particles are helium nucleus.
(3) Most of the mass is concentrated at the centre of atom.
A. (3) only B. (1) and (2) only
C. (2) and (3) only D. (1), (2) and (3)

2 A positively charged ion (+1) has an atomic number of Z. Find (i) the number of electrons and (ii) the
number of neutrons in the ion.
A. (i) Z (ii) Z B. (i) Z – 1 (ii) Z
C. (i) Z + 1 (ii) Z D. (i) Z – 1 (ii) Not enough information

3 The following figure shows the setup of Rutherford’s scattering experiment. Which position do you
think will record most of the data?
A. E
B. F
C. G
D. H

4 According to Rutherford’s atomic model, if a large classroom represents an atomic size, which of the
following objects best represent the size of a nucleus?
A. A basketball B. A baseball
C. A ping-pong ball D. A marble

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5 According to the symbol 6 X , which of the following statements is/are CORRECT?
(1) It is the element carbon. (2) It is a radioisotope.
(3) The number of neutron inside the nucleus of X is 8.
A. (1) and (3) only B. (2) and (3) only
C. (1) and (4) only D. (1), (2) and (3)

6 Which of the following involves the injection of radioisotopes into the body?
(1) PET (2) Radiography (3) MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging)
A. (1) only B. (2) only
C. (1) and (2) only D. (2) and (3) only

7 Which of the following is/are deduced from the Rutherford’s scattering experiment?
(1) There are neutrons inside the nucleus.
(2) The sign of the charge of the nuclei is the same as the sign of alpha particles.
(3) Electrons are embedded in the nucleus.
A. (1) only B. (2) only
C. (3) only D. (1), (2) and (3)
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8 Which of the following statements is / are CORRECT?
(1) Radioisotopes of the same elements are having same chemical properties.
(2) Radioisotopes of the same elements are having same physical properties.
(3) We can test whether a sample is a radioisotope using a GM counter.
A. (1) and (3) only B. (2) and (3) only
C. (1) and (2) only D. (1), (2) and (3)

9 When beta decay occurs, which of the following quantities will change?
(1) The atomic number of the nucleus.
(2) The mass number of the nucleus.
(3) The number of neutrons in the nucleus.
(4) The number of radioactive nuclei in the sample.
A. (1), (2) and (3) only B. (1), (2) and (4) only
C. (1), (3) and (4) only D. (1), (2), (3) and (4)

10 When we use carbon dating to estimate the age of mummy, what assumptions should be made?
(1) The activity of C-14 inside the mummy does not change with time.
(2) The average ratio of C-14 and C-12 in the atmosphere does not change with time.
(3) The level of C-14 is dominant in the atmosphere.
A. (3) only B. (2) only
C. (1) only D. (1), (2) and (3)

11 The figure below shows the N – Z graph of a radioactive decay. How many β emissions there are
during the decay process?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 0

235
12 92 U is a common fissionable material that can be used in a nuclear power plant. How many

nucleons are there in such a nucleus?

A. 92 B. 143
C. 235 D. 238

13 Which of the following statements about atom is correct?

A. The mass of an atom is mainly contributed by the mass of electrons.
B. The mass of an atom can be taken as the sum of the mass of protons.
C. We can use visible light to investigate the internal structure of atoms.
D. Atoms are neutral in charge in general.

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14 Which of the following statements about atom is correct?
A. The mass number is the total number of neutrons in a nucleus.
B. The number of electrons in an atom determines the chemical properties of an element.
C. The number of electrons in an atom determines the physical properties of an element.
D. Atomic number is the number of neutrons in an atom.

15 The figure below shows the A – Z graph

of a radioactive decay. Which of the
following graphs is its corresponding N –
Z graph?

A. B.

C. D.

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Section B: Questions

1 A radium-226 nucleus (Ra) has 88 protons and 138 neutrons. It is radioactive and has a half-life of
1 590 years. When it decays, it emits an alpha particle and a gamma ray and changes to daughter
nucleus X.
(a) Write down the equation for this decay.
Ans:

(b) It is known that the nucleus X will also emit an alpha particle and changes to another
nucleus Y. Write down the equation for this decay.
Ans:

(c) “Radioactive nuclei will always become stable and not radioactive after one radioactive
decay.” Comment on this statement.
Ans:

2 Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) is the radioisotope commonly used in developing images of internal

body organs. The m indicates that it is unstable. It decays to Tc-99 in its stable state by gamma
decay. The image is then prepared by scanning the organ being investigated for gamma rays
with a scintillation detector. Tc-99m has a half-life of 6 hours and its atomic number is 43.
(a) Write down the equation for the decay of Tc-99m to Tc-99.
Ans:

(b) Explain briefly why Tc-99m is suitable for medical diagnosis. (Hint: Consider its
half-life.)
Ans:

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3 In the Rutherford’s scattering experiment as shown in the following figure, a thin gold foil is
bombarded by α particles to investigate the internal structure of a gold atom. Given that the
197
symbolic notation of gold is 79 Au .

(a) Write down the constituent particles in a gold atom.

Ans:

(b) When α particles hit the gold foil, at which positions (E, F or G) will detect most of the
α particles? Explain briefly.
Ans:

(c) Some of the α particles will be reflected backwards. Explain the reason for this.
Ans:

(d) The Rutherford’s scattering experiment should be carried out in a vacuum. Explain
why.
Ans:

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4 Read the following passage and answer the questions:
“Carbon dating is very useful in calculating the age of archaeological materials. For examples, the
age of mummies. How do scientist know their ages? Since carbon-14 (C-14) will decay to
nitrogen-14 (N-14) by emitting a beta particle. By measuring the ratio of C-12 and C-14 in living
things and compared with that in the mummies, scientists can know how much time elapsed!
However, there is a time limitation in carbon dating. It is not possible to measure ages, which are
too long time. The upper limit is about 10 half-lives of C-14 ……

Luckily there is another technique in finding the age of archaeological materials, called the
potassium-argon dating. It is valuable in geologists to date rocks and stones. It uses the
radioactive decay of potassium-40 (K-40) to argon-40 (Ar-40) to measure the time elapsed. K-40
has a half-life of about 1.3 billion years. It is much longer than the half-life of C-14, which is just 5
700 years. In carbon dating, we measure the disappearance of C-14 but in potassium-argon
dating, we measure the accumulation of argon gas in rocks ……”

(a) Given that the atomic number of carbon and nitrogen is 6 and 7 respectively. Write
down a symbolic equation that represents the decay process.
Ans:

(b) According to the passage, estimate the maximum time that carbon dating can
measure.
Ans:

(c) State two differences between carbon dating and potassium-argon dating.
Ans:

(d) Given that the atomic number of potassium and argon is 19 and 18 respectively.
Comment on the statement “The decay from K-40 to Ar-40 is just a beta decay.”
Ans:

End
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