Essential Nuclear Chemist Interview Questions & Answers:

1. Tell me what is titration?

Titration is a process to determine the molarity of a base or an acid. In this process a reaction is carried out between the known volumes of a solution with a known concentration, against the known volume of a solution with an unknown concentration.

2. Tell me what is the special property it has?

Well, the special property is that if it is bombarded with neutrons, then the uranium nucleus will split in two, and with that a large amount of energy is released in the form of heat. And this is called fission.

3. Explain azimuthal Quantum Number?

It is denoted by l. Through this quantum number we get to know the number of sub-shells present in the main shell. It also gives information about the shapes of various shells present within the same principal shell and also about the relative energies associated with these sub-shells.

4. Tell me what is plutonium? Does it occur naturally?

Plutonium is simply a material that is very like uranium, being produced from uranium. It's produced by the absorption of a neutron in uranium, and you get this new metal which has been called plutonium. Its properties are not dissimilar to one of the isotopes of one of the kinds of uranium that exist in the earth's crust. It is fissionable, like the fissionable isotope of uranium. That is to say, you could make a reactor out of it, out of plutonium.

5. What is hund's rule of maximum multiplicity?

Electron pairing in p, d and f orbitals cannot occur until each orbital of a given subshell contains one electron or is singly occupied. This happens because electrons being identical in charge repel each other when present at the same orbital.

6. Tell me what makes a molecule into organic molecule?

In a molecule when hydrogen atom is less than the ratio of carbon atom, then such molecules are referred as an organic molecule.

7. Do you know the term Aliquot and Diluent?

Aliquot : It is a measured sub-volume of original sample
Diluent: Material with which sample is diluted

8. Tell me what is plutonium? Is it a metal like uranium?

Plutonium is, in fact, a metal very like uranium. If you hold it [in] your hand (and I've held tons of it my hand, a pound or two at a time), it's heavy, like lead. It's toxic, like lead or arsenic, but not much more so.

9. Tell us was Chernobyl as bad as it could get?

That's as bad an accident as you can get from a nuclear plant. And worse than any accident in a modern nuclear plant could possibly be. The point is that that reactor was on fire for days and days and days, with radioactive material going up into the air. But it was the crudest kind of reactor, which the Soviets thankfully have stopped building.

10. Tell me what is Avogadro's law?

According to Avogadro's law, at same temperature and pressure equal volume of gases contains the same number or molecules regardless of the chemical nature and physical properties.

Avogadro's number = 6.023 X 10 (-23)