Critical Thinking Items
22.1 The Structure of the Atom
Why would it most likely be difficult to observe quantized orbital states for satellites orbiting the earth?
- On a macroscopic level, the orbital states do exist for satellites orbiting Earth but are too closely spaced for us to see.
- On a macroscopic level, the orbital states do not exist for satellites orbiting Earth.
- On a macroscopic level, we cannot control the amount of energy that we give to an artificial satellite and thus control its orbital altitude.
- On a macroscopic level, we cannot control the amount of energy that we give to an artificial satellite but we can control its orbital altitude.
Do standing waves explain why electron orbitals are quantized?
- no
- yes
Some terms referring to the observation of light include emission spectrum and absorption spectrum. Based on these definitions, what would a reflection spectrum describe?
- The reflection spectrum would describe when incident waves are selectively reflected by a substance.
- The reflection spectrum would describe when incident waves are completely reflected by a substance.
- The reflection spectrum would describe when incident waves are not absorbed by a substance.
- The reflection spectrum would describe when incident waves are completely absorbed by a substance.
22.3 Half Life and Radiometric Dating
Provide an example of something that decreases in a manner similar to radioactive decay.
- The potential energy of an object falling under the influence of gravity
- The kinetic energy of a ball that is dropped from a building to the ground
- Theh charge transfer from an ebonite rod to fur
- The heat transfer from a hot to a cold object
A sample of radioactive material has a decay constant of 0.05 s–1. Why is it wrong to presume that the sample will take just 20 seconds to fully decay?
- The decay constant varies with the mass of the sample.
- The decay constant results vary with the amount of the sample.
- The decay constant represents a percentage of the sample that cannot decay.
- The decay constant represents only the fraction of a sample that decays in a unit of time, not the decay of the entire sample.