0%

HL - Nuclear & Quantum Physics

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

DP IB HL Physics Quiz

1 / 25

1. 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

2 / 25

2. 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?

3 / 25

3. The parallax angles of Star A and Star B are 0.250 arcseconds and 0.500 arcseconds respectively. What is the shortest possible distance, in parsec, between Star A and Star B?

4 / 25

4. 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

5 / 25

5. 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.

6 / 25

6. 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?

7 / 25

7. 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

8 / 25

8. 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

9 / 25

9. Which of the following is correct for a stable star?

 

10 / 25

10. 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?

11 / 25

11. 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

12 / 25

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

13 / 25

13.

14 / 25

14. 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 ?

15 / 25

15. 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:

16 / 25

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?

17 / 25

17. Which of the following correctly states the conclusion drawn from the Rutherford-Geiger-Marsden experiment?

 

18 / 25

18. 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 ?

 

19 / 25

19. 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

20 / 25

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

21 / 25

21. 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

22 / 25

22. 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?

23 / 25

23. 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

24 / 25

24. The nucleon numbers of elements X and  are  and  respectively. Their radii are  and , and their densities are  and .

Which of the following shows the correct values of the ratios RY/RX and ρY/ρX?

RY/RX ρY/ρX
A.  2  1
B. 8 2
C. 2 2
D. 8 1

25 / 25

25. 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.

Your score is

0%