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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. 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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2. The diagram below shows the graph of binding energy per nucleon vs. the mass (nucleon) number of some elements.

PH0332

Which is the most stable nucleus?

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3. 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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4. Which of the following is not true about Bohr's model of the atom.

 

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5. 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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6. The electron in the ground state of a hydrogen atom absorbs a certain amount of energy. The diagram shows some of the energy levels of the hydrogen atom. At which state would the electron be if it absorbs 12.09  of energy?

PH0341

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7. During experiments observing beta decays, it was seen that the energy spectrum of the beta particles is continuous and momentum conservation was violated in beta decays. This provided evidence for the existence of:

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8. 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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9.

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10. 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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11. In the core of a star, a proton-proton chain reaction takes place.

After the initial stage of the reaction, two positrons annihilate with electrons present in the surroundings. Which of the following correctly shows the nature of the chain reaction and the energy released due to annihilation?

Nature of the chain reaction Energy released
A. Fusion (2)(0.511)MeV
B. Fusion (4)(0.511)MeV
C. Fission (2)(0.511)MeV
D. Fission (4)(0.511)MeV

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12. 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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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 stationary nucleus of uranium-238 undergoes alpha decay to form thorium-234. The initial speed of the alpha particle is . What is correct about the magnitude of the thorium-234 velocity and its direction?

Magnitude Direction
A. 4v/234 Same as the alpha particle
B. 234v/238 Opposite to the alpha particle
C. 234v/238 Same as the alpha particle
D. 4v/234 Opposite to the alpha particle

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16. Which of the following physical quantities has the same SI unit as the radioactive decay constant?

 

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17. 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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18.

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19. Which statement describes a possible nuclear fusion reaction?

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20. 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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21. Which of the following is the most suitable method for managing nuclear waste?

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22. 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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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. In the absence of the strong nuclear force, a large nucleus would be even more unstable than a small nucleus. Which one of the following is the best explanation?

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25. 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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