PhysicsLAB: 2008 Form B

Following a nuclear reaction, a nucleus of aluminum is at rest in an excited state represented by

as shown above left. The excited nucleus returns to the ground state

by emitting a gamma ray photon of energy 1.02 MeV, as shown above right. The aluminum nucleus in the ground state has a mass of 4.48 x 10^-26 kg . Assume nonrelativistic equations apply to the motion of the nucleus.

	(a) Calculate the wavelength of the emitted photon in meters.

	(b) Calculate the momentum of the emitted photon in kg m/sec.

	(c) Calculate the speed of the recoiling nucleus in m/sec.

	(d) Calculate the kinetic energy of the recoiling nucleus in joules.