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NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS

Vocabulary Review
Write the term that correctly completes the statement. Use each term once.
activity force carrier nucleon
 decay fusion pair production
atomic mass unit  decay quark
atomic number half-life radioactive
 decay lepton Standard Model
binding energy mass defect strong nuclear force
chain reaction mass number weak nuclear force
fission nuclear reaction

1. _________________________ ____ is the division of a nucleus into two or more fragments,

resulting in a release of neutrons and energy.
2. _________________________ The radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of an atom
emits an  particle is called ____.
3. ________________________ Elementary particles that carry forces between matter are called
____.
4. ________________________ ____ is the conversion of electromagnetic radiation into matter-
antimatter particle pairs.
5. ________________________ Elementary particles such as electrons and neutrinos that, along
with quarks, appear to compose all the matter in the universe
are called ____.
6. ________________________ The sum of the protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the atom
is the ____.
7. ________________________ The ____ holds the protons and neutrons together in the nucleus
of an atom.
8. ________________________ ____ is the process in which nuclei with small masses are
combined to form a nucleus with a larger mass.
9. ________________________ The ____ is the amount of time required for half the nuclei of a
given quantity of a radioactive isotope to decay.
10. ________________________ The number of decays per second, or decay rate, of a radioactive
substance is called its ____.
11. ________________________ A ____ is a reaction in which the number of protons or neutrons
in the nucleus of an atom changes.
12. ________________________ A material that undergoes radioactive decay and emits radiation
is described as ____.
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13. _________________________
14. _______________________
15. _______________________
16. _______________________
17. _______________________
18. _______________________
19. _______________________
20. _______________________
21. _______________________
22. _______________________
23. _______________________
SECTION 1  The Nucleus
For each statement below, write true or rewrite the italicized part to make the statement true.
1. _________________________
2. _________________________
3. _________________________
4. _________________________
Chapter 30  Nuclear and Particle Physics
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The ____ is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.
The model in which quarks, leptons, and force carriers make up
the building blocks of matter is called the ____.
____ is converted to thermal energy in a fission reaction and is
the energy equivalent of the mass defect.
____ is the process of radioactive decay that occurs when a
neutron is changed to a proton within the nucleus of an atom,
and a -particle and an antineutrino are emitted.
A lesser force acting in the nucleus that is apparent during
radioactive decay is a ____.
____ are elementary particles that make up protons, mesons,
and neutrons; together with leptons they appear to make up all
matter in the universe.
The radioactive process of decay that takes place when the
nucleus of an atom emits a  ray is called ____.
The difference between the sum of the masses of individual
nucleons and the actual mass is the ____.
A(n) ____ is either a proton or neutron.
A(n) ____ is a unit of mass equal to 1/12 the mass of the carbon-
12 isotope.
A(n) ____ refers to the continual process of repeated fission
reactions that result from the release of neutrons from previous
fission reactions.
The only charged particle in the nucleus is the proton.
More of the mass of an atom comes from the mass of protons
than from other nucleons.
The mass of an individual atom is close to a whole number of
mass units, while the atomic mass of an average sample of that
type of atom is not, because it contains a mixture of isotopes.
One atomic mass unit is now defined on the basis of the mass of a
proton.
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5. _________________________ The binding energy is the energy equivalent of the mass defect.
6. _________________________ An assembled nucleus has more energy than the separate
protons and neutrons in it.
7. _________________________ The binding energy comes from the nucleus’s converting some of
its mass to energy.
8. _________________________ Because mass is converted to hold the nucleons together, the
mass of an assembled nucleus is less than the sum of the masses
of the nucleons that compose it.
9. _________________________ The mass defect is the total of the sum of the masses of the
individual nucleons and the actual mass.
10. _________________________ The binding energy is calculated using the equation E  mc2 to
compute the energy equivalent of the experimentally determined
mass defect.

Answer the following questions. Show your calculations.

11. A deuterium nucleus has one proton, one neutron, and one electron. The mass of the deuterium
isotope is 2.014102 u, the mass of a hydrogen atom is 1.007825 u, and the mass of a neutron is
1.008665 u.
a. What is the mass defect for deuterium?

b. What is the binding energy for deuterium?

12. A 73 Li has a binding energy of 39.244603 MeV. The mass of a hydrogen atom is 1.007825 u and
the mass of a neutron is 1.008665 u.
a. What is the mass defect for this isotope?

b. What is the mass of the isotope?

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SECTION 2  Nuclear Decay and Reactions

Circle the letter of the choice that best completes the statement.
1. Three types of radiation produced by radioactive decay are ____.
a. nuclear energy, microwaves, and X-ray c. , X-ray, and light
b. , , and  d. ultraviolet, light, and infrared
2. A thick sheet of paper will stop ____.
a.  radiation c.  radiation
b.  radiation d. X-rays
3. -particles are ____.
a. high-energy photons c. low-energy photons
b. high-speed electrons d. the nuclei of helium atoms
4. -particles are emitted when ____ during radioactive decay.
a. a neutron changes to a proton c. a valence electron is ejected
b. a proton changes to a neutron d. an electron changes energy levels
5. When a nucleus emits a -ray during  decay, ____.
a. both the mass number and the atomic number change
b. neither the mass number nor the atomic number changes
c. the atomic number increases by one and the mass number stays the same
d. the mass number decreases by four and the atomic number stays the same
6. A nuclear reaction will occur naturally if energy is ____ by the reaction.
a. absorbed c. released
b. conserved d. used up
7. When a nucleus undergoes alpha decay, the resulting nucleus ____ than the original nucleus.
a. is less stable and has less mass c. is more stable and has less mass
b. is less stable and has more mass d. is more stable and has more mass
8. In nuclear fusion, nuclei with ____ combine to form a nucleus with ____.
a. large masses; a larger mass c. low velocities; a higher velocity
b. low energy; a higher energy d. small masses; a larger mass
9. ____ would make a good moderator for a chain reaction.
a. Air c. Concrete
b. Cadmium d. Paper

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 30

10. The energy released by a fusion reaction ____.

a. depends on the temperature at which the reaction takes place
b. is the energy equivalent of the mass difference between the products and the reactants
c. is very small compared to other types of reactions
d. transfers to the potential energy of the resultant particles
11. The reaction 11H  ____  32 He   is one possible step in the proton-proton chain of fusion in
the Sun.
1 2
a. 1 H c. 1 He
2 4
b. 1 H d. 2 He

Answer the following questions. Show your calculations.

12. Write the complete decay equations for the alpha decay of the following isotopes.
238
a. 92 U

210
b. 84 Po

222
c. 86 Rn

13. Write the complete decay equations for the beta decay of the following isotopes.
234
a. 90 Th

214
b. 82 Pb

210
c. 83 Bi

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SECTION 3  The Building Blocks of Matter

Write the term that correctly completes the statement.
1. _________________________ A(n) ____ can be used to accelerate protons or electrons.
2. _________________________ A(n) ____ is a kind of accelerator that bends the path of the
particles into a circle.
3. _________________________ The device for detecting radiation in which a charged particle or
-ray ionizes a gas in a tube is a(n) ____.
4. _________________________ The path left through water vapor or ethanol vapor by the passage of
a charged particle is a(n) ____.
5. _________________________ The ____ groups particles into three families: quarks, leptons, and
force carriers.
6. _________________________ The subatomic particles that make up protons and neutrons are
____.
7. _________________________ Electrons and neutrinos are considered to be in the group of
subatomic particles called ____.
8. _________________________ ____ are a group of particles that include photons, gluons, and
bosons.
9. _________________________ The subatomic particle that is made of two up quarks and one
down quark is the ____.
10. _________________________ The subatomic particle that is made of one up quark and two
down quarks is the ____.
11. _________________________ A(n) ____ has the same mass as an electron, but has the opposite
charge.
12. _________________________ The conversion of energy into a matter-antimatter pair of
particles is called ____.
13. _________________________ The ____ is the force that is indicated by the existence of 
decay.
Answer the following question. Show your calculations.

14. An isotope of polonium, 84 Po , decays by  emission and then by two successive  emissions to
218

produce an isotope of polonium.

a. Predict the atomic mass number of the polonium formed.

b. Show the three nuclear decay reactions.

Chapter 30  Nuclear and Particle Physics

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Study Guide  Teacher Support
NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS 6. less
7. true
All numerical answers have been rounded to
the correct number of significant figures. 8. true

Vocabulary Review 9. the difference

1. fission 10. true

2.  decay 11. a. total mass of nucleons in deuterium 

one hydrogen atom  one neutron
3. force carriers 1.007825 u  1.008665 u  2.016490 u
4. pair production mass defect  mass of deuterium 
mass of nucleons
5. leptons
 2.01410 u  2.016490 u
6. mass number
7. strong nuclear force  0.00239 u

8. fusion b. E  (mass defect in u)

(binding energy of 1 u)
9. half-life E  (0.00239 u)(931.49 MeV/u)
10. activity E  2.23 MeV

11. nuclear reaction 12. a. E  (mass defect)(binding energy of 1 u)

E
12. radioactive mass defect 
binding energy of 1 u
13. atomic number 39.244603 MeV

931.49 MeV/u
14. Standard Model
 4.2131  10 2 u
15. binding energy
b. mass of isotope  mass of nucleons 
16.  decay mass defect
17. weak nuclear force  3(1.007825 u) 
4(1.008665 u)  (4.2131102 u)
18. quarks
 7.01600 u
19.  decay
20. mass defect SECTION 2 Nuclear Decay and
21. nucleon Reactions
22. atomic mass unit 1. b

23. chain reaction 2. a

3. d
SECTION 1 The Nucleus
4. a
1. true
2. neutrons 5. b

3. true 6. c

4. carbon-12 atom 7. c
5. true 8. d
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Study Guide  Teacher Support
9. b 6. quarks
10. b 7. leptons
11. b 8. force carriers

12. a. 238
92 U  23490Th  42 He 9. proton

Po  206 10. neutron

82 Pb  2 He
210 4
b. 84

11. positron
c. 222
86 Rn  218
84 Po  2 He
4

12. pair production

13. a. 234
90 Th  234
91 Pa  1 e  0 v
0 0

13. weak nuclear force

b. 214
Pb  214
Pa  e  v
0 0
82 83 1 0
14. a. The two  decays don’t change the
210
Bi  210
Po  e  v
0 0 atomic mass number so, the new
c. 83 84 1 0
atomic mass number is the mass
number of polonium minus the mass
SECTION 3 The Building Blocks of number of the -particle.
Matter 218  4  214
1. linear accelerator b. 218
84 Po  214
82 Pb  2 He
4

2. synchrotron
214
82 Pb  214
83 Bi  1 e  0 v
0 0

214
Bi  214
84 Po  1 e  0 v
0 0
3. Geiger counter 83

4. condensation trail
5. Standard Model

Chapter 30 Ÿ Nuclear and Particle Physics

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