Inorganic Exam 4

According to the schematic shell model, what is the fundamental principle governing how nucleons occupy energy levels within the nucleus?

Nucleons fill the available energy levels from the bottom upwards, with two protons (or neutrons) per level

When a proton is brought near a nucleus, how does its potential energy well differ from that of a neutron?

The proton’s well is less deep due to the additional effect of long-range Coulomb replusion

In the shell model notation “3d3/2”, what does the quantum number j=3/2 represent?

The total angular momentum of the nucleon

For an even-even nucleus (with all nucleons paired), what is the parity of its ground state?

Positive

Based on the shell model, what is the predicted configuration for the four neutrons in 7Li

(1s1/2)2(1p3/2)2

For the nucleus 17O, which has a ground state configuration ending with an unpaired neutron in the (1d5/2) orbital, what is its predicted parity?

Positive, because the orbital angular momentum L is 2

According to the text, what is the primary reason that relatively small changes in nuclei can release large amounts of energy?

The density of nuclear matter is extremely high

The total binding energy of a nucleus is defined as the difference between

The mass of its individual nucleons and the actual nuclear mass

Which of the following statements about fermions is TRUE?

They have half-integer spins and obey the Pauli exclusion principle

Which of the following particles is classified as a boson?

Photon

In the statement that the fundamental forces of nature operate through the virtual exchange of particles, what does “virtual” mean?

The particles exist for a very short time and cannot be observed directly

What is the exchange particle (force carrier) for the strong nuclear force?

The gluon

Which of the following is a characteristic of the strong nuclear force as described in the presentation?

It is strongly attractive and nucleons only interact with their nearest neighbors

The six leptons are arranged in three pairs. Which of the following is one of these pairs?

Muon and muon neutrino

The exceptional stability of transition metal carbonyl complexes, such as Ni(CO)4, is primarily due to

A synergistic effect involving sigma-donation and pie-backdonation

What is the primary reason transition metals can stabilize exceptionally low oxidation states in carbonyl complexes?

CO can accept electron density from the metal through pie-backdonation

In a complex like Ni(CO)4, where nickel is in the 0 oxidation state, what prevents the electron-rich nickel atom from becoming unstable?

Nickel uses its excess d-electrons for backbonding into CO pie* orbitals

If you compare the C-O stretching frequencies of Ni(CO)4 and Cr(CO)6, which complex would you expect to have a lower frequency, and why?

Cr(CO)6 because chromium can back-donate more electrons into CO pie* orbitals