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HL - Nuclear & Quantum Physics

25 MCQ from 2025 Question Bank Nuclear & Quantum Physics (all topics)

DP IB HL Physics Quiz

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1. A nuclear reactor converts nuclear energy into electrical energy. Which of the following reactions best describes the primary nuclear reaction in a nuclear reactor?

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2. An element  is bombarded with alpha particles and a new element  is formed with a neutron emitted. The following equation can be written for the nuclear reaction.

PH0234

The atomic numbers of  and  are  and  respectively. Which of the following is correct for  and ?

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3. In a vacuum chamber, electromagnetic radiation of frequencies fA just manage to produce a non-zero photocurrent from metals A and B respectively. When illuminated by an electromagnetic radiation of frequency f>fB, the stopping voltage for the photocurrents from plates A and B are recorded to be  and  respectively.

Which of the following is true about  and ?

 

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4. Two lasers, A and B emit light of the same wavelength. If the intensity of A is greater than that of B, which of the following statements would be the correct interpretations of this situation using the wave and particle models of light.

Wave model Particle model
A. The amplitude of LASER A is greater than that of LASER B. LASER A emits more photons per second than LASER B.
B. The amplitude of LASER B is greater than that of LASER A. LASER B emits more photons per second than LASER A.
C. The amplitude of LASER A is greater than that of LASER B. LASER B emits more photons per second than LASER A.
D. The amplitude of LASER B is greater than that of LASER A. LASER A emits more photons per second than LASER B.

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5.

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6. An electron in a hydrogen atom is excited from the ground state of to the  level. What is the total number of frequencies that can be observed from the emission spectrum as the electron returns to ground state?

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7. Light from a sodium lamp of wavelength is directed towards a metal surface and electrons until a stopping potential of  is applied. The wavelength of the incident light is halved. Which of the following corresponds to the new value of the required stopping potential?

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8. The nuclear energy levels of a nucleus are shown below. K, L, and M are transitions between energy levels.

PH0456

Which statements are correct about photons emitted during transitions K, L, and M?

I. The wavelength of the photon emitted by transition K is greater than the wavelength of the photon emitted by transition L.
II. The frequency of the photon emitted by transition K is equal to the frequency of the photon emitted by transition M.
III. The wavelength of the photon emitted by transition L is greater than the wavelength of the photon emitted by transition M.

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9. Which of the following radioactive decays can cause the production of a daughter nucleus to be a different element than the parent nucleus?

I.α decay
II.β decay
III.γ decay

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10. The activity of a 100% pure radioactive sample is . The activity of the sample after 20% of nuclei have decayed is:

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11. A student uses the arrangement shown below to ascertain the type of radiation emitted by a given sample of radioactive material.

PH0339

When the sheet of paper is in the position shown, a count rate of 720  is recorded. When she lowers the thick sheet of paper so as to obstruct the direct path between the source and the detector, the count rate drops to 18 . Which of the following is the most likely explanation for the data collected?

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12. Alpha particles of kinetic energy  are fired at nuclei of proton number .

The number of particles scattered at different angles are in agreement with the prediction of Rutherford's scattering model.

Which of the following changes to the values of  and  will result in a significant deviation from Rutherford's model?

Value of   Value of 
A. Decrease Increase
B. Decrease Decrease
C. Increase Increase
D. Increase Decrease

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13. Which value below gives the closest approximation for the diameter of a uranium-238 nucleus?

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14. In a nuclear reactor, what is the name given to the material used to slow down neutrons in order to cause successful fissions?

 

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15. A star with a mass of twice the mass of the sun is a main sequence star. The time the sun is expected to spend in the main sequence is . Which of the following is correct for the time the star is expected to spend in the main sequence and the next stage in its evolution?

Time Stage
A. More than T Red giant
B. More than T Supergiant
C. Less than T Red giant
D. Less than T Supergiant

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16. Consider the following statements about nuclear binding energy:

The nuclear binding energy is:

  • I. proportional to the mass defect from nucleus formation.
  • II. the energy released when a nucleus is formed from its nucleons.
  • III. the energy required to remove a proton from the nucleus.

Which of the statements are correct?

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17. A main sequence star has a mass greater than 4 times the mass of the Sun. Which of the following is correct about the possible the fate of the star?

I. White dwarf
II. Neutron star
III. Black hole

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18. Which of the following is correct about a red giant star?

I. The orbits of the inner planets of the solar system and could fit into the volume of it
II. Cooler than the Sun
III. Have higher luminosity than the Sun

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19. No electrons are emitted when metal plate  is irradiated by an electromagnetic radiation of wavelength , and intensity . Which of the following could result in emission of photoelectrons?

I. Decreasing the wavelength λ of incident light.
II. Increasing the intensity of electromagnetic radiation at the same wavelength.
III. Replacing metal X, with a metal of smaller threshold frequency.

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20. The diagram shows atomic energy levels of an element, and wavelengths are labeled corresponding to emission for electron transition between certain energy levels.

PH0299

Which of the following shows these wavelengths in decreasing order?

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21. Three experiments are listed.

I. Photoelectric effect
II. Davisson-Germer experiment
III. Young’s double-slit experiment

Which of the experiments show the existence of the wave behavior of matter?

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22.

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23. The photocurrents produced by illuminating a metal plate with yellow light beams of intensities  and  are  and  respectively. The corresponding stopping voltages are  and . Given that  , which of the following statements is true about the photocurrents and the stopping voltages?

Photocurrents Stopping voltages
A. i1 V1=V2
B. i1 V1
C. i1>i2 V1=V2
D. i1=i2 V1

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24. A student investigates the scattering of alpha particles. Initially, she uses a gold foil ( = 79) and next she repeats the experiment using an aluminum ( = 13) foil of the same thickness. The scattered alpha particles are observed on a detector that fluoresces.

Which of the following will be true as she switches from the gold foil to the aluminum foil?

I. The alpha particles deflect more from the gold nucleus than the aluminum.
II. The alpha particles approach the gold nucleus closer than the aluminum nucleus.
III. There is no change in the observed scattering pattern.

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25. A pure radioactive sample of mass m has a decay constant of . Its activity is given by . Another pure sample of the same material has a mass . Consider the following statements about the sample of mass  after an interval of two half lives.

  • I. The decay constant is λ/2.
    II. The activity is A/2.
    III. The mass of decayed nucleons in the sample is m/2

Which of the statements is/are correct?

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