Start learning →

Physics Olympiad Olympiad Physics — practice questions

Explore 30 free Olympiad Physics questions in Physics Olympiad Physics. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

Practise Olympiad Physics with Quill →

Olympiad Physics questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–30 of 30.

If an atom were blown up to the size of a classroom, the nucleus would be about as big as a:Read the answer and worked solution →Two atoms of one element have the same protons but different masses. They are:Read the answer and worked solution →The number of protons inside a nucleus is given by its:Read the answer and worked solution →The total number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus is called its:Read the answer and worked solution →A single word covering both a proton and a neutron in the nucleus is:Read the answer and worked solution →A gold nucleus holds 197 nucleons of which 79 are protons. Its neutron count is:Read the answer and worked solution →A neutron sitting outside any nucleus is unstable and decays into a proton, an antineutrino and an:Read the answer and worked solution →The mean life of a free neutron before it decays is about:Read the answer and worked solution →Deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, has one proton and how many neutrons?Read the answer and worked solution →Measurements show that nuclear density does not change from one nucleus to another. It is:Read the answer and worked solution →Because their density is the same throughout, nuclei are compared with a drop of:Read the answer and worked solution →The difference between a nucleus mass and the total mass of its free nucleons is the:Read the answer and worked solution →The energy equivalent of the mass defect, needed to split a nucleus apart, is the:Read the answer and worked solution →The binding energy divided by the number of nucleons gives the binding energy:Read the answer and worked solution →For most middle sized nuclei the binding energy per nucleon is roughly:Read the answer and worked solution →The binding energy per nucleon stays nearly constant in the middle range because the nuclear force is:Read the answer and worked solution →Compared with the Coulomb force between charges, the nuclear force is:Read the answer and worked solution →The nuclear force between two protons, two neutrons or a proton and neutron is about:Read the answer and worked solution →Joining light nuclei into a heavier one releases energy. This process is called:Read the answer and worked solution →Radioactivity was discovered in 1896, purely by accident, by:Read the answer and worked solution →One becquerel of activity means exactly one decay in every:Read the answer and worked solution →The time in which a sample of radioactive nuclei falls to half its number is the:Read the answer and worked solution →Catch the nucleus wordsRead the answer and worked solution →Pop the activity unitsRead the answer and worked solution →Run the nuclear gatesRead the answer and worked solution →Slice the nuclear termsRead the answer and worked solution →Fission or fusionRead the answer and worked solution →Sort the nuclear factsRead the answer and worked solution →Type the numberRead the answer and worked solution →Nuclei bingoRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

If an atom were blown up to the size of a classroom, the nucleus would be about as big as a:

  1. Pinhead
  2. Football
  3. Blackboard
  4. Schoolbag
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: A. Pinhead

1. The nucleus is tiny compared with the whole atom. 2. Scaled to a classroom it shrinks to a speck. 3. That speck is the size of a pinhead. _Source: syllabus Physics Part II, Class XII, Chapter 13, Nuclei._

Open this question →

Two atoms of one element have the same protons but different masses. They are:

  1. Isomers
  2. Isotopes
  3. Isobars
  4. Isotones
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: B. Isotopes

1. Same element means the same proton count. 2. Different mass means a different neutron count. 3. Such atoms are isotopes. _Source: syllabus Physics Part II, Class XII, Chapter 13, Nuclei._

Open this question →

The number of protons inside a nucleus is given by its:

  1. Atomic number
  2. Atomic weight
  3. Atomic radius
  4. Atomic volume
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: A. Atomic number

1. Each symbol in the notation counts something. 2. The count of protons has its own name. 3. That name is the atomic number. _Source: syllabus Physics Part II, Class XII, Chapter 13, Nuclei._

Open this question →

How to practise

  1. Choose a Olympiad Physics question and try to work out your answer.
  2. Open the question to check the correct answer and read its worked solution.
  3. Continue in the app for bite-sized lessons, explanations and review with Quill. You can start without creating an account.

More Physics topics

PhysicsOlympiad ScienceForce and PressureNucleiLaws of Motion