Nuclear Chemistry 
Home Page 

Problem Set 

Free Response 
Question 

Multiple Choice Questions 
 

Topics 
Projects 
References 

Topics 

The following topics are listed under Structure of Matter in the AP Course Outline:  

Nuclear chemistry: nuclear equations, half-lives, and radioactivity; chemical applications

Nuclear energy, including the conversion of matter to energy, has been covered on a recent AP examination in an essay question. 

Projects 

Review the necessary material from a general chemistry text of your choosing and 

1. Complete the problem set.
2. Create a new free response question similar to an AP essay question based on information drawn from one of the web sites provided.  Post the question and answer on the CHM 599 list server.
3. Create two new multiple choice questions and post the questions and answers.

References 
 

• Marie and Pierre Curie and the discovery of polonium and radium
• http://www.nobel.se/essays/curie/index.html
• Interactive table of the nuclides. 
• http://www.dne.bnl.gov/CoN/index.html
• Use of americium in smoke detectors. 
• http://www.uic.com.au/nip35.htm
• Introduction to nuclear medicine.  After you reach the Mallinckrodt site, scan down and click on "What is Nuclear Medicine" or the small links under "Mallinckrodt Nuclear Medicine - Petten, the Netherlands". 
• http://www.mallinckrodt.nl/nucmed/nuclear.htm
• Medical applications: radiopharmaceuticals used in PET (positron imaging tomography). 
• http://www.icppet.org/radio.html
• Introductions to nuclear fusion. 
• http://wwwofe.er.doe.gov/overview.html 
• http://www.ipp.mpg.de/w7as/jvh/jvh_html/fusion/fusion1.html 
• A natural nuclear reactor in the OKLO uranium deposits. 
• http://www.curtin.edu.au:80/curtin/centre/waisrc/OKLO/index.shtml 
• The Uranium Information Centre, a complete and extensive source of information on uranium and the production of nuclear energy for electricity from uranium.  (An Australian site.) 
• http://www.uic.com.au/index.htm 
• British Energy reactor tours (Click on "Come and See"). 
• http://www.british-energy.com/fr_be.html 
• The Virtual Nuclear Tourist, nuclear power plants around the world. 
• http://www.cannon.net/~gonyeau/nuclear/index.htm 
• The Nobel Prize for the use of isotopes as tracers in the study of chemical processes presented to de Hevesy in 1944.
• http://nobel.sdsc.edu/laureates/chemistry-1943-press.html
• The Nobel Prize for the development of carbon-14 as a tool for dating presented to Libby in 1960.
• http://nobel.sdsc.edu/laureates/chemistry-1960-press.html