Inquiry into Physics 8th edition Vern J. Ostdiek, Donald J. Bord - Solutions

The amount of carbon-14 in an ancient wooden bowl is found to be one-half that in a new piece of wood. How old is the bowl?
Iodine-131, a beta emitter, has a half-life of 8 days. A 2-gram sample of initially pure iodine-131 is stored for 32 days. How much iodine-131 remains in the sample afterward?
Iron-58 and bismuth-209 fuse into a large nucleus plus a neutron. Write the reaction equation and determine the identity of the resulting nucleus.
Two deuterium nuclei can undergo two different fusion reactions. One of them is given at the beginning of Section 11.7. In the second possible reaction, two deuterium nuclei fuse to form a new nucleus plus a lone proton. Write the reaction equation, and determine the identity of the resulting
The following is a possible fission reaction. Determine the identity of the missing nucleus. in + U → U* → Y + ? + 2}n 9BY + ? + 2,n 39
A nucleus of oxygen-15 undergoes electron capture. Write out the reaction equation and determine the identity of the daughter nucleus.
The isotope helium-6 undergoes beta decay. Write the reaction equation and determine the identity of the daughter nucleus.
How can a nucleus of uranium-235 be induced to fission? Describe what happens to the nucleus.
The half-lives of most radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine range between a few hours and a few weeks. Why?
The half-life of plutonium-238, the isotope used to generate electricity on the Voyager spacecraft, is about 88 years. What effect might this have on the spacecraft’s anticipated useful lifetime?
One cause of uncertainty in carbon-14 dating is that the relative abundance of carbon-14 in atmospheric carbon dioxide is not always constant. If it is discovered that during some era in the past carbon-14 was more abundant than it is now, what effect would this have on the estimated ages of
How is carbon-14 used to determine the ages of wood, bones, and other artifacts?
A large number of regular six-sided dice are shaken together in a box, then dumped onto a table. Those showing 1 or 2 are removed, and the process is repeated with the remaining ones. Is the half-life of the dice greater than, equal to, or less than one throw?
One-half of the nuclei of a given radioisotope decays during one half-life. Why doesn’t the remaining half decay during the next half-life?
Explain the concept of nuclear half-life.
A concrete wall in a building is found to contain a radioactive isotope that emits alpha radiation. What could be done to protect people from the radiation (short of razing the building)? What if it were gamma radiation that was being emitted?
A standard treatment for some cancers inside the body is to use nuclear radiation to kill cancer cells. If the radiation has to pass through normal tissue before reaching the cancer, why would alpha radiation not be a good choice for such treatment?
The deflection of an alpha particle as it passes through a magnetic field is much less than the deflection of a beta particle (Figure 11.3). Explain why. Alpha Gamma Beta
A nuclear explosion far out in space releases a large amount of alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Which of these would be detected first by a radiation detector on Earth?
Describe the common types of radioactive decay. What effect does each have on a nucleus?
What aspects of the composition of a nucleus can cause it to be unstable?
What is the name of the force that holds protons and neutrons together in the nucleus?
Two nuclei have different mass numbers A1 and A2. Are the two nuclei necessarily isotopes of the same element? Explain.
A material is known to consist entirely of an isotope of calcium, although the particular isotope is not known. From such limited information, which of the following quantities can you specify for the isotope? (a) Its atomic number? (b) Its neutron number? (c) Its atomic mass (or nucleon) number?
A mixture of two common isotopes of oxygen, oxygen-16 and oxygen-18, is put in a cylindrical chamber that is then spun around its long axis at a very high speed. It is found that one isotope is more concentrated near the axis of rotation of the chamber and the other is more concentrated near the
The atomic number of one particular isotope is equal to its mass number. Which isotope is it?
Why do different isotopes of an element have the same chemical properties?
What is meant by the term cold fusion?
Why is magnetic confinement being used in fusion research?
Why are extremely high temperatures effective at causing fusion? What is used to produce such temperatures in a thermonuclear warhead?
If the strong nuclear force had a longer range than it does, what effect (if any) would that have on efforts to harness controlled fusion as an energy source?
Why is a nuclear fusion reaction so difficult to induce?
After a fuel rod in a fission reactor reaches the end of its life cycle (typically 3 years), most of the energy that it produces comes from the fissioning of plutonium-239. How can this be?
There is much more uranium-235 in a typical nuclear power plant than there was in the bomb that destroyed the city of Hiroshima. Why can’t the reactor explode like an atomic bomb?
What are fission fragments, and why are they so dangerous?
Explain how materials that absorb neutrons are used to control nuclear fission chain reactions.
What aspect of nuclear fission makes it possible for a chain reaction to occur? What is the difference between a chain reaction in a bomb and one in a nuclear power plant?
What is the vacuum wavelength of the 0.186 MeV y-ray emitted by radon-226?
The Q-value of a nuclear reaction is a measure of the kinetic energy that the reaction products carry away as a result of the mass that is converted into energy by the nuclear transformation prescribed by the reaction. For example, in Section 11.7, the fusion of two deuterium nuclei produces a He-3
Using the information given in Section 11.5 and the mass– energy conversion equation, compute the binding energy (in MeV) and the binding energy per nucleon for hydrogen-2 (deuterium).
For nuclei with A > 20 that are not in highly excited states, the protons and neutrons are generally clustered together in an approximately spherical volume whose radius, r, has been empirically found to scale as A1/3. Specifically, r = (1.2 x 10-5 m) A1/3Compare the sizes of the following
The naturally occurring radioisotopes uranium-238 and uranium-235 have decay chains that end with the stable isotopes lead-206 and lead-207, respectively. Natural minerals such as zircons contain these uranium and lead isotopes. Careful measurements of the relative amounts of the isotopes can be
As a general rule, the radioactivity from a particular radioisotope is considered to be reduced to a safe level after 10 half-lives have elapsed. (Obviously, the initial quantity of the isotope is also important.) By how much is the rate of emission of radiation reduced after 10 halflives?
Geiger counters are not very accurate when the count rates are very high; they indicate a count rate lower than the actual value. Explain why this is so.
We discussed the deviations in the path of a beam of light after passing through transparent media (refraction) and the role such deviations play in common natural phenomena like rainbows and halos. Why aren’t we as familiar with the deviations in the path of light caused by gravity?
According to Table 12.4, the rest mass of an electron is 0.511 MeV/c2. What is the rest mass of a positron?Table 12.4 Mass (MeV/c²) Symbol Family Electron Antiparticle e+ (positron) Particle Name Electron 0.511 e- ~0(S 2 × 10-6) Neutrino Muon μ" 105.7 Muon ~0(
Distinguish between fermions and bosons in as many different ways as you can.
What is the quark composition of the Δ++ baryon? It has no strangeness, no charm, and no topness or bottomness. Its spin is 3/2.
How many quarks form a baryon? A meson? What is the relationship (if any) between a quark and a lepton (e.g., an electron)?
Describe the kinds of evidence that have led scientists to conclude that quarks exist.
What is a quark? How many different types of quarks are now known? What are some of the basic properties that distinguish these quarks?
In which of the four basic interactions does an electron participate? A neutrino? A proton? A photon?
Give some ways by which physicists classify elementary particles.
Some neutral particles, such as the π0, are their own antiparticles, but not the neutron. In what ways are n and n̅ the same? Speculate on how they might be different.
What is an antiparticle? What may happen when a particle and its anti collide?
What common feature of the electromagnetic and gravitational interactions requires that their carrier (or exchange) particles be massless?
List the four fundamental interactions of Nature, and discuss their relative strengths and effective ranges.
A friend alleges that Buddhist monks residing in monasteries high in the Tibetan Himalayans age more slowly than lobstermen fishing off the coast of Maine. Do you accept her statement as true? Why or why not?
Describe the phenomenon of gravitational time dilation. What experimental or observational evidence exists to support the reality of this prediction of the general theory of relativity?
Do pulsating variable stars, that is, stars that rhythmically expand and contract as a result of thermal instabilities in their atmospheres, generate gravitational waves in this process? Why or why not? Explain.
What are gravitational waves? How are they produced? What evidence is there to substantiate the existence of such radiation?
List three astronomical examples in which the validity of the predictions of general relativity has been demonstrated.
Figure 12.34 shows the trajectory of a comet passing near the Sun. Describe how Newton would explain the deviation in the comet’s path from a straight line. Repeat the explanation as it might be given by Einstein. Ion tail Dust tail Comet Sun
In what way(s) is Einstein’s general theory of relativity superior to Newton’s theory of universal gravitation? Give an example of a case where Einstein’s theory provides a more accurate description of physical phenomena than does Newton’s.
After landing on the planet Mars, two astronauts awaken from a long induced hibernation inside their windowless spacecraft. Before emerging, is there any way they can determine whether their individual body weights are the result of gravitation or accelerated motion?
The principle of equivalence underlies the general theory of relativity. What does this principle assert about the motion of objects in a uniform gravitational field?
Given the Newtonian view of gravity, why is it reasonable to expect that the rate at which the universe is expanding should be decreasing with time? Do observations of the motions of remote galaxies support this position? If not, what do such observations suggest about how the rate of expansion is
If a horseshoe is heated in a blacksmith’s furnace until it glows red hot, does the mass of the horseshoe change? If a spring is stretched to twice its equilibrium length, has its mass been altered in the process? If so, explain how and why in each case.
Does E0 = mc2 apply only to objects traveling at the speed of light? Why or why not?
Newton wrote: “Absolute, true, and mathematical time, of itself, and from its own Nature, flows equally without relation to anything external.” Comment on the significance of this statement for two timekeepers in relative motion. In the light of special relativity, is Newton’s statement
Galileo used his pulse like a clock to measure time intervals by counting the number of heartbeats. If Galileo were traveling in a spaceship, moving uniformly at a speed near that of light, would he notice any change in his heart rate, assuming the circumstances of his travel produced no
In your own words, define what is meant by time dilation in special relativity theory. Provide a similar definition for length contraction. Give an example in which the effects of time dilation are actually observed.
Light travels in water at a speed of 2.25 x 108 m/s. Is it possible for particles to travel through water at a speed ν > 2.25 x 108 m/s? Why or why not? Explain.
Suppose you were traveling toward the Sun at a constant velocity of 0.25c. With what speed does the light streaming out from the Sun go past you? Explain your reasoning.
Describe the two fundamental postulates underlying Einstein’s special theory of relativity.
What does the acronym PET stand for? Why is PET a good example with which to begin a discussion of elementary particle physics?
Figure 12.35 shows the appearance of three spherical space pods as seen by an Earth-bound observer. The pods are traveling along the same direction, but have different speeds relative to the observer. Rank the speeds of the pods from highest to lowest and explain the rationale for your
Describe the role of inflation in cosmology. How does it help to explain why the geometry of the universe is flat? What is the source of the energy that drove the rapid expansion of the universe during the brief inflationary era in its history?
What is dark energy and what role does it play in our understanding of The structure and evolution of the universe?
What is dark matter and how much of the total massenergy budget of the universe consists of dark matter? Give two dark matter candidates that have been proposed by particle physicists.
If a proton can decay, then its lifetime is of the order of 1034 years, far longer than the current age of the universe. Does this necessarily imply that a proton decay has not yet occurred in the entire history of the universe? Explain.
Unification of its basic laws and theories has long been a goal in physics. Describe some ways in which physicists have been successful in unifying certain forces and theories. In what area(s) of physics is (are) the process(es) of unification still ongoing?
A bumper “snicker” on a car belonging to the chairperson of a physics department reads: “Particle physicists have GUTs!” Explain in your own words the meaning of this little joke or “play on words.”
Describe the Standard Model of elementary particle physics.
Quarks are said to possess “color.” What does this mean? Are physicists really suggesting that quarks look red like ripe strawberries or blue like the cloudless daytime sky? Explain.
What kind of a particle (baryon, meson, or lepton) corresponds to a tt̅—that is, to a top-antitop quark combination? Describe some of the properties such a particle would have.
In the quark model, is it possible to have a baryon with strangeness -1 and electric charge +2? Explain.
Show that time stands still at the Schwarzschild radius of a black hole. Specifically, demonstrate that Dtf → ∞ when d = dS in the time dilation equation for any value of Dtd. The implications of this result are clear: As one nears the Schwarzschild radius of a black hole, gravitational time
If the average lifetime of a proton was 1033 years, about how many protons would you have to assemble together and observe simultaneously to witness a total of 100 proton decays in one year? Explain the reasoning that led to your conclusion.
The F- meson possesses -1 unit of charge, -1 unit of strangeness, and -1 unit of charm. Identify the quark combination making up this rare subatomic particle.
Distinguish a particle composed of a combination of d̅ u̅ s̅ quarks from one composed of dus quarks in as many ways as you can. Do the same for a dss combination and a d̅ s̅ s̅ combination.
Give three (3) combinations of quarks (not antiquarks!) that will give baryons with charge: (a) +1; (b) -1;(c) 0.
A 0.1-kg ball connected to a fixed point by a taut string whirls around a circular path of radius 0.5 m at a speed of 3 m/s. Find the angular momentum of the orbiting ball. Compare this with the intrinsic angular momentum of an electron. How many times larger is the former than the latter?
Sirius B has a mass and radius of 2.1 x 1030 kg and 5.5 x 106 m, respectively. Assuming Sirius B is perfectly spherical in shape, compute the ratio of the Δtf t / Δtd. Using this result, confirm that the redshift quoted in Section 12.2 for this star if z = Δtf t / Δtd t − 1.
How many years would you have to wait to observe a 1° angular shift in the perihelion of Mercury due to general relativistic effects?
Determine the redshift of a photon whose observed wavelength is 656.9 nm if its emitted wavelength is 656.3 nm.
If the relativistic kinetic energy of a particle is 9 times its rest energy, at what fraction of the speed of light must the particle be traveling?
The tau is the heaviest of all the known leptons, having a mass of 1,777 MeV/c2. Find the rest energy of a tau in MeVs and joules. What is the mass of the tau in kilograms? Compare your result with the mass in kilograms of an electron.
If an electron is speeding down the two-mile-long Stanford Linear Accelerator at 99.98 percent the speed of light, how many meters long is the trip as seen from the perspective of the electron?
A computer in a laboratory requires 2.50 μs to make a certain calculation, as measured by a scientist in the lab. To someone moving past the lab at a relative speed of 0.995c, how long will the same calculation take?

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Inquiry into Physics 8th edition Vern J. Ostdiek, Donald J. Bord - Solutions

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