🎯 Test Your Knowledge!

1. Consider a nucleus that undergoes beta-minus decay. A neutron inside the nucleus transforms into a proton, emitting an electron and an antineutrino. How does this specific decay affect the mass number and atomic number of the original nucleus?

2. What is the main fuel used in nuclear reactors for fission?

3. The concept that atomic nuclei have specific energy levels, much like electrons in atoms, is crucial for understanding what?

4. You have a sample of a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 10 days. If you start with 100 grams of the isotope, how much of the original isotope will remain after 30 days?

5. What is the phenomenon where a nucleus, after undergoing a decay, remains in an excited state and then releases its excess energy in the form of a high-energy photon without changing its atomic or mass number?

6. Which of the following is a common product of nuclear fusion reactions occurring in the Sun's core?

7. In a nuclear chain reaction, what specific type of particle is typically released during fission that can then go on to induce further fission events in other nuclei?

8. A scientist is trying to determine the age of an ancient organic artifact by measuring the decay of Carbon-14. What specific property of Carbon-14 are they using for this dating method?

9. What is the term for two atoms that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons?

10. What is the role of control rods in a nuclear reactor?

11. Which type of radiation consists of high-energy electrons or positrons emitted from a nucleus during radioactive decay?

12. What fundamental force is responsible for binding protons and neutrons together within an atomic nucleus, despite the protons' electric repulsion?

13. A highly energetic cosmic ray impacts an atomic nucleus, causing it to fragment into several smaller particles and emit a burst of energy. This event is an example of what fundamental nuclear interaction?

14. Consider a nuclear reactor core where heavy atomic nuclei are split into lighter nuclei, releasing a tremendous amount of energy. What type of nuclear reaction is taking place?

15. What phenomenon describes the spontaneous emission of particles or energy from an unstable atomic nucleus?

16. Imagine a radioactive isotope undergoes a process where its nucleus emits an alpha particle. What happens to the atomic number and mass number of the original nucleus after this emission?