Sheet (1)

1- To a good approximation, the sun’s surface is a blackbody with a

surface temperature of 5800 K. (We are ignoring the absorption produced
by the sun’s atmosphere) (a) At what wavelength does the sun emit most
strongly? (b) What is the total radiated power per unit surface area?

2- Find the power per unit area radiated from the sun’s surface in the
wavelength range 600.0 to 605.0 nm.

3- The classical model of blackbody radiation given by the Rayleigh–

Jeans law has two major flaws. (a) Identify the flaws and (b) explain how
Planck’s law deals with them.

4- If the photoelectric effect is observed for one metal, can you conclude
that the effect will also be observed for another metal under the same
conditions? Explain.

5- In the photoelectric effect, explain why the stopping potential depends

on the frequency of light but not on the intensity.

6- The human eye is most sensitive to 560-nm (green) light. What is the
temperature of a black body that would radiate most intensely at this
wavelength?

7- The temperature of the skin is approximately 35.0°C. At what

wavelength does the radiation emitted from the skin reach its peak?

8- (a) Find the wavelength corresponding to the peak of the radiation

curve for the heating element of an electric oven at a temperature
of1.2 X 103 K . (Note that although this radiation peak lies in the infrared,
there is enough visible radiation at this temperature to give the element a
red glow.) (b) The peak in the radiation curve of the Sun is 510 nm.
Calculate the temperature of the surface of the Sun.

9- Your temperature is 98.6°F. Assuming your skin is a perfect radiator (ε

= 1), determine the wavelength corresponding to the largest intensity (in
μm).

10- The threshold wavelength for photoelectric emission of a particular

substance is 500 nm. What is the work function (in eV)?

11- What is the maximum velocity (in km/s) of a photoelectron emitted

from a surface whose work function is 5 .0 eV when illuminated by a
light whose wavelength is 200 nm?

12- What is the maximum kinetic energy (in eV) of a photoelectron

emitted from a surface whose work function is 5.0 eV when illuminated
by a light whose wavelength is 200 nm?

13- What is the maximum kinetic energy (in eV) of a photoelectron when
a surface, whose work function is 5.0 eV, is illuminated by photons
whose wavelength is 400 nm?

14- A sodium surface is illuminated with light of wavelength 0.300 µm.

The work function for sodium is 2.46 eV. (a) Calculate the energy of each
photon in electron volts, (b) the maximum kinetic energy of the ejected
photoelectrons, and (c) the cutoff wavelength for sodium.

15- (a) What minimum-frequency light will eject photoelectrons from a

copper surface? (b) If this frequency is tripled, find the maximum kinetic
energy (in eV) of the resulting photoelectrons.
16- Medical x-ray machines typically operate at a potential difference of
1.00 X 105 V. Calculate the minimum wavelength their x-ray tubes
produce when electrons are accelerated through this potential difference.

17- What potential difference would be necessary to produce gamma rays

with wavelength 1.00 X 10-15 m? This wavelength is about the same size
as the diameter of a proton.

18- Molybdenum has a work function of 4.20 eV. (a) Find the cutoff
wavelength and cutoff frequency for the photoelectric effect. (b) What is
the stopping potential if the incident light has a wavelength of 180 nm?
 Sheet (2)
1- Calculate the de Broglie wavelength for a proton moving with a speed
of 1.00 × 106 𝑚/𝑠.

2- In an electron-diffraction experiment using an accelerating voltage of

54 V, an intensity maximum occurs for θ = 50̊. X-ray diffraction indicates
that the atomic spacing in the target is d = 2.18 X 10 -10 m =0.218 nm. The
electrons have negligible kinetic energy before being accelerated. Find
the electron wavelength.

3- Find the speed and kinetic energy of a neutron (m = 1.675 X 10-27 kg)
with de Broglie wavelength λ = 0.2 nm, a typical interatomic spacing in
crystals. Compare this energy with the average translational kinetic
energy of an ideal-gas molecule at room temperature (T = 20̊ C = 293 K).

4- (a) Compare the de Broglie wavelength for an electron (me = 9.11 X

10-31 kg) moving at a speed of1.00 X 107 m/s with that of a baseball of
mass 0.145 kg pitched at 45.0 m/s. (b) Compare these wavelengths with
that of an electron traveling at 0.999c.

5- A neutron has a mass of 1.67 × 10-27 kg. The de Broglie wavelength is

1.4 × 10-10 m. How fast is the neutron going? (in m/s)

6- A neutron has a mass of 1.67 × 10-27 kg. Its de Broglie wavelength is

1.4 × 10-10 m. What is its kinetic energy (in eV)?

7- A neutron has a mass of 1.67 × 10-27 kg. Its de Broglie wavelength is

1.4 × 10-10 m. What temperature would it correspond to if we had a
monatomic gas having the same average kinetic energy (in °C)?
8- An electron is accelerated through a potential difference of 25000 V.
What is the de Broglie wavelength of the electron (in m)?

9- The speed of an electron is measured to be 5.00 X 10 3 m/s to an

accuracy of 0.003 00%. Find the minimum uncertainty in determining the
position of this electron.

10- Find the uncertainty in the momentum (in kg · m/s) of an electron if

the uncertainty in its position is equal to 3.4 × 10-10 m, the circumference
of the first Bohr orbit.

11- Because the factor on the right side of the Heisenberg uncertainty
principle has units of Joule-seconds, it suggests that the energy of a
system also has uncertainty. The uncertainty in energy depends on the
length of the time interval during which a system exists. ΔE Δt ≥ ħ/2π.
Suppose an unstable mass is produced during a high-energy collision
such that the uncertainty in its mass is me/100. (me = 9.11 × 10-31 kg.)
How long will this particle exist?

12- Assume we can determine the position of a particle within an

uncertainty of 0.5 nm. What will be the resulting uncertainty in the
particle’s momentum (in kg · m/s)?

13- Assume the Heisenberg uncertainty principle can take the form ΔE Δt
≥ ħ. How accurate can the position of an electron be made if its speed is 5
× 106 m/s and if the uncertainty in its energy is 10 eV?

14- An electron has been accelerated by a potential difference of 100 V.

If its position is known to have an uncertainty of 1 nm, what is the
percent uncertainty (Δp/p × 100) of the electron?
15- Suppose we use optical radiation (λ = 500 nm) to determine the
position of the electron to within the wavelength of the light. What will
be the resulting uncertainty in the electron’s velocity?

16- An electron is sitting on a pinpoint having a diameter of 2.5 μm.

What is the minimum uncertainty in the speed of the electron?

17- The resolving power of a microscope depends on the wavelength

used. If one wished to ―see‖ an atom, a resolution of approximately 1.00
× 10–11 m would be required. (a) If electrons are used (in an electron
microscope), what minimum kinetic energy is required for the electrons?
(b) What If? If photons are used, what minimum photon energy is
needed to obtain the required resolution?

18- An air rifle is used to shoot 1.00-g particles at 100 m/s through a hole
of diameter 2.00 mm. How far from the rifle must an observer be in order
to see the beam spread by 1.00 cm because of the uncertainty principle?
Compare this answer with the diameter of the visible Universe (2 × 10 26
m).

19- The wave function for a particle is

 x  
a

 x  a2
2

for a > 0 and –∞ <x < +∞. Determine the probability that the particle is
located somewhere between x = –a and x = +a.

20- An electron is contained in a one-dimensional box of length 0.100

nm. (a) Draw an energy-level diagram for the electron for levels up to n =
4. (b) Find the wavelengths of all photons that can be emitted by the
electron in making downward transitions that could eventually carry it
from the n = 4 state to the n = 1 state.
21- A particle in an infinitely deep square well has a wave function given
by

 2x 
 2 x  
2
sin 
L  L 
for 0 ≤ x ≤ L and zero otherwise. (a) Determine the expectation value of
x. (b) Determine the probability of finding the particle near L/2, by
calculating the probability that the particle lies in the range 0.490L ≤ x ≤
0.510L. (c) What If? Determine the probability of finding the particle
near L/4, by calculating the probability that the particle lies in the range
0.240L ≤ x ≤ 0.260L. (d) Argue that the result of part (a) does not
contradict the results of parts (b) and (c).

22- The wave function for a particle confined to moving in a one-

dimensional box is
 nx 
 x   A sin 
 L 

2
A
Use the normalization condition on ψ to show that L

Suggestion: Because the box length is L, the wave function is zero for x<
0 and for x >L, so the normalization condition (Eq. 41.6) reduces to
L
  dx  1
2
0

23- A particle is in the n = 1 state of an infinite square well with walls at

x = 0 and x = L. Let ℓ be an arbitrary value of x between x = 0 and x = L.
(a) Find an expression for the probability, as a function of ℓ, that the
particle will be found between x = 0 and x = ℓ. (b) Sketch the probability
as a function of ℓ/L. Choose values of ℓ/L ranging from 0 to 1.00 in steps
of 0.100. (c) Find the value of ℓ for which the probability of finding the
particle between x = 0 and x = ℓ is twice the probability of finding the
particle between x = ℓ and x = L. You can solve the transcendental
equation for ℓ/L numerically.
 Sheet (3)
1- An energy of 13.6 eV is needed to ionize an electron from the ground
state of a hydrogen atom. What wavelength is needed if a photon
accomplishes this task?

2- What value of wavelength is associated with the Lyman series for n =

2? (RH = 1.097  107 m–1)

3- What wavelength (in µm) is associated with the Paschen series for n =
4? (RH = 1.097  107 m–1)

4- Light is emitted by hydrogen atoms in the visible range for a hydrogen

atom. Its wavelength is 656 nm. What value of n is associated with the
light?
(RH = 1.097  107 m–1)

5- An electron in a hydrogen atom makes a transition from the n = 4 to

the n = 3 energy state. Determine the energy (in eV) of the emitted
photon.

6- An electron in a hydrogen atom makes a transition from the n = 3 to

the n = 1 energy state. Determine the wavelength of the emitted photon
(in nm).

7- A hydrogen atom is in its first excited state (n = 2). The linear

momentum of the electron is (in kg · m/s)

8- A hydrogen atom emits a photon of wavelength 657.7 nm. From what

energy state to what lower energy state did the electron jump?

9- The electron in a hydrogen atom makes a transition from the (n = 2)

energy level to the ground level (n = 1). (a) Find the wavelength and
frequency of the emitted photon.(b) In interstellar space, highly excited
hydrogen atoms called Rydberg atoms have been observed. Find the
wavelength to which radio astronomers must tune to detect signals from
electrons dropping from the n = 273 level to the n = 272 level.(c) What is
the radius of the electron orbit for a Rydberg atom for which n = 273?(d)
How fast is the electron moving in a Rydberg atom for which n = 273?(e)
What if radiation from the Rydberg atom in part (B) is treated classically?
What is the wavelength of radiation emitted by the atom in the n = 273
level?

10- (a) What value of niis associated with the 94.96-nm spectral line in
the Lyman series of hydrogen? (b) What If? Could this wavelength be
associated with the Paschen or Balmer series?

11- (a) Compute the shortest wavelength in each of these hydrogen

spectral series: Lyman, Balmer, Paschen, and Brackett. (b) Compute the
energy (in electron volts) of the highest-energy photon produced in each
series.

12- Figure below shows portions of the energy-level diagrams of the

helium and neon atoms. An electrical discharge excites the He atom from
its ground state to its excited state of 20.61 eV. The excited He atom
collides with a Ne atom in its ground state and excites this atom to the
state at 20.66 eV. Lasing action takes place for electron transitions from
E3* to E2 in the Ne atoms. From the data in the figure, show that the
wavelength of the red He–Ne laser light is approximately 633 nm.

13- The carbon dioxide laser is one of the most powerful developed. The
energy difference between the two laser levels is 0.117 eV. Determine the
frequency and wavelength of the radiation emitted by this laser. In what
portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is this radiation?

14- In the helium–neon laser at room temperature, laser action occurs

between two excited states of the neon atom. However, in many lasers,
laser action (lasing) occurs between the ground state and an excited state,
(a) Consider such a laser that emits at wavelength λ = 550 nm. If a
population inversion is not generated, what is the ratio of the population
of atoms in state Ex to the population in the ground state E0, with the
atoms at room temperature? (b) For the conditions of (a), at what
temperature would the ratio Nx / N0 be 1/2?

14- For a hydrogen atom in its ground state, use the Bohr model to
compute (a) the orbital speed of the electron, (b) the kinetic energy of the
electron, and (c) the electric potential energy of the atom.

15- Four possible transitions for a hydrogen atom are as follows:

(i) ni = 2; nf= 5 (ii) ni = 5; nf = 3
(iii) ni = 7; nf = 4 (iv) ni = 4; nf = 7
(a) In which transition is light of the shortest wavelength emitted? (b) In
which transition does the atom gain the most energy? (c) In which
transition(s) does the atom lose energy?

16- A monochromatic beam of light is absorbed by a collection of

ground-state hydrogen atoms in such a way that six different wavelengths
are observed when the hydrogen relaxes back to the ground state. What is
the wavelength of the incident beam?

17- In a hot star, because of the high temperature, an atom can absorb
sufficient energy to remove several electrons from the atom. Consider
such a multiply ionized atom with a single remaining electron. The ion
produces a series of spectral lines as described by the Bohr model. The
series corresponds to electronic transitions that terminate in the same final
state. The longest and shortest wavelengths of the series are 63.3 nm and
22.8 nm, respectively. (a) What is the ion? (b) Find the wavelengths of
the next three spectral lines nearest to the line of longest wavelength.
 Sheet (4)
1- Two isotopes of uranium have the same

2- The isotope, tritium, has a half-life of 12.3 years. Assume we have 10

kg of the substance. What will be the disintegration constant (in s–1)?

3. The isotope, tritium, has a half-life of 12.3 years. Assume we have 10

kg of the substance. What will be the initial decay rate, at t = 0 (in
decays/s)?

4. The isotope, tritium, has a half-life of 12.3 years. Assume we have 10

kg of the substance. How much tritium will be left after 30 years?

5. 44 g of petrified wood was found in a petrified forest. A sample

showed a 14C activity of 100 decays/minute. How long has the tree been
dead (in years)? (The half-life of carbon-14 is 5730 years and freshly cut
wood contains 6.5  1010 atoms of 14C per gram.)

131
6. The half-life of I is 8.04 days. Three days after it was prepared, its
activity was 0.50 µCi. How many curies (in µCi) were initially prepared?

7. How many radioactive atoms are present in a sample that has an

activity of 0.5 µCi and a half-life of 10 years? (1 curie = 3.7  1010
decays/s).

8- A sample of radioactive material contains 1.00 × 1015 atoms and has an

activity of 6.00 × 1011 Bq. What is its half-life?

9- A freshly prepared sample of a certain radioactive isotope has an

activity of 10.0 mCi. After 4.00 h, its activity is 8.00 mCi. (a) Find the
decay constant and half-life. (b) How many atoms of the isotope were
contained in the freshly prepared sample? (c) What is the sample’s
activity 30.0 h after it is prepared?

198
10- The radioactive isotope Au has a half-life of 64.8 h. A sample
containing this isotope has an initial activity (t = 0) of 40.0 μCi. Calculate
the number of nuclei that decay in the time interval between t1 = 10.0 h
and t2 = 12.0 h.

11- Identify the missing nuclide or particle (X):

(a) X  28 Ni  
65

(b)
215
84 Po  X  


(c) X  26 Fe  e  v
55

(d)
109
48 Cd  X  109
47 Ag  v

(e)
14
7 N  42 He  X  17
8 O

12- A living specimen in equilibrium with the atmosphere contains one

atom of 14C (half-life = 5730 yr) for every 7.7 × 1011 stable carbon atoms.
An archeological sample of wood (cellulose, C12H22O11) contains 21.0 mg
of carbon. When the sample is placed inside a shielded beta counter with
88.0% counting efficiency, 837 counts are accumulated in one week.
Assuming that the cosmic-ray flux and the Earth’s atmosphere have not
changed appreciably since the sample was formed, find the age of the
sample.

13- A certain African artifact is found to have a carbon-14 activity of

(0.12 ± 0.01) Bq per gram of carbon. Assume the uncertainty is negligible
in the half-life of 14C (5730 yr) and in the activity of atmospheric carbon
(0.25 Bq per gram). The age of the object lies within what range?

14- Determine which decays can occur spontaneously:

(a)
40
20 Ca  e   40
19 K

(b)
98
44 Ru  42 He  94
42 Mo

(c)
144
60 Nd  42 He  140
58 Ce
 Sheet (5)
1. Burning one metric ton (1000 kg) of coal can yield an energy of 3.30 ×
1010 J. Fission of one nucleus of uranium-235 yields an average of about
208 MeV. What mass of uranium produces the same energy as a ton of
coal?

2. Find the energy released in the fission reaction

1
0 n U
235
92
98
40 Zr  135
52  
Te  3 01 n
98 135
The atomic masses of the fission products are: 40 Zr , 97.912 7 u; Te ,
52

134.916 5 u.

235
3. Strontium-90 is a particularly dangerous fission product of U
because it is radioactive and it substitutes for calcium in bones. What
other direct fission products would accompany it in the neutron-induced
235
fission of U? (Note: This reaction may release two, three, or four free
neutrons.)

239 238
4. List the nuclear reactions required to produce Pu from U under
fast neutron bombardment.

233 232
5. List the nuclear reactions required to produce U from Th under
fast neutron bombardment.

6- (a) The following fission reaction is typical of those occurring in a

nuclear electric generating station:
1
0 n U  141
235
92 56 Ba 
92
36  
Kr  3 01 n

Find the energy released. The required masses are

 
M 01 n = 1.008 665 u
M  235
92 
U = 235.043 923 u

M  141
56 
Ba = 140.914 4 u

M  92
36 
Kr = 91.926 2 u

(b) What fraction of the initial mass of the system is transformed?

7- A reaction that has been considered as a source of energy is the

absorption of a proton by a boron-11 nucleus to produce three alpha
particles:
1
1 H  115B  3 42 He 
This is an attractive possibility because boron is easily obtained from the
Earth’s crust. A disadvantage is that the protons and boron nuclei must
have large kinetic energies in order for the reaction to take place. This is
in contrast to the initiation of uranium fission by slow neutrons. (a) How
much energy is released in each reaction? (b) Why must the reactant
particles have high kinetic energies?

8- A typical nuclear fission power plant produces about 1.00 GW of

electrical power. Assume that the plant has an overall efficiency of 40.0%
and that each fission produces 200 MeV of energy. Calculate the mass of
235
U consumed each day.

9- To minimize neutron leakage from a reactor, the surface area-to-

volume ratio should be a minimum. For a given volume V, calculate this
ratio for (a) a sphere, (b) a cube, and (c) a parallelepiped of dimensions a
× a × 2a. (d) Which of these shapes would have minimum leakage?
Which would have maximum leakage?
10- It has been estimated that on the order of 109 tons of natural uranium
is available at concentrations exceeding 100 parts per million, of which
235
0.7% is the fissionable isotope U. Assume that all the world’s energy
use (7 × 1012 J/s) were supplied by 235
U fission in conventional nuclear
reactors, releasing 208 MeV for each reaction. How long would the
supply last? The estimate of uranium supply is taken from K. S. Deffeyes
and I. D. MacGregor, ―World Uranium Resources,‖ Scientific American
242(1):66, 1980.

11- If the reproduction constant is 1.000 25 for a chain reaction in a

fission reactor and the average time interval between successive fissions
is 1.20 ms, by what factor will the reaction rate increase in one minute?

12- A large nuclear power reactor produces about 3 000 MW of power in

its core. Three months after a reactor is shut down, the core power from
radioactive byproducts is 10.0 MW. Assuming that each emission
delivers 1.00 MeV of energy to the power, find the activity in becquerels
three months after the reactor is shut down.

13- (a) Consider a fusion generator built to create 3.00 GW of power.

Determine the rate of fuel burning in grams per hour if the D–T reaction
is used. (b) Do the same for the D–D reaction assuming that the reaction
products are split evenly between (n, 3He) and (p, 3H).

14- Two nuclei having atomic numbers Z1 and Z2 approach each other
with a total energy E. (a) Suppose they will spontaneously fuse if they
approach within a distance of 1.00 × 10–14 m. Find the minimum value of
E required to produce fusion, in terms of Z1 and Z2. (b) Evaluate the
minimum energy for fusion for the D–D and D–T reactions (the first and
third reactions in Eq. 5.4).

15- To understand why plasma containment is necessary, consider the

rate at which an unconfined plasma would be lost. (a) Estimate the rms
speed of deuterons in a plasma at 4.00 × 108 K. (b) What If? Estimate the
order of magnitude of the time interval during which such a plasma
would remain in a 10-cm cube if no steps were taken to contain it.

16- Of all the hydrogen in the oceans, 0.030 0% of the mass is deuterium.
The oceans have a volume of 317 million mi3. (a) If nuclear fusion were
4
controlled and all the deuterium in the oceans were fused to 2 He , how
many joules of energy would be released? (b) What If? World power
consumption is about 7.00 × 1012 W. If consumption were 100 times
greater, how many years would the energy calculated in part (a) last?

17- It has been suggested that fusion reactors are safe from explosion
because there is never enough energy in the plasma to do much damage.
(a) In 1992, the TFTR reactor achieved an ion temperature of 4.0 × 108 K,
an ion density of 2.0 × 1013 cm–3, and a confinement time of 1.4 s.
Calculate the amount of energy stored in the plasma of the TFTR reactor.
(b) How many kilograms of water could be boiled away by this much
energy? (The plasma volume of the TFTR reactor is about 50 m3.)

18- Find the number of 6Li and the number of 7Li nuclei present in 2.00
kg of lithium. (The natural abundance of 6Li is 7.5%; the remainder is
7
Li.)
19- One old prediction for the future was to have a fusion reactor supply
energy to dissociate the molecules in garbage into separate atoms and
then to ionize the atoms. This material could be put through a giant mass
spectrometer, so that trash would be a new source of isotopically pure
elements—the mine of the future. Assuming an average atomic mass of
56 and an average charge of 26 (a high estimate, considering all the
organic materials), at a beam current of 1.00 MA, how long would it take
to process 1.00 metric ton of trash?