With reference to Uranium, consider the following statements: It has t...
Uranium: Facts and Statements
Statement 1: It has the highest atomic weight of all naturally occurring elements.
- This statement is correct.
- Uranium is a naturally occurring element with the symbol U and atomic number 92.
- It is a heavy metal that is slightly radioactive and has a silvery-white color.
- It is the heaviest naturally occurring element and has an atomic weight of 238.03.
Statement 2: India imports all its uranium requirements as it does not have uranium deposits.
- This statement is incorrect.
- India has significant uranium deposits in various parts of the country, including Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Rajasthan.
- India's uranium reserves are estimated to be around 142,000 tonnes, and the country has been working to increase its domestic production of uranium to reduce its dependence on imports.
- India is one of the largest consumers of uranium in the world, and it imports uranium from countries like Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia to meet its nuclear energy requirements.
Conclusion
- The correct answer is option A, i.e., only statement 1 is correct.
- Uranium is the heaviest naturally occurring element, but India has significant uranium deposits and does not import all its uranium requirements.
With reference to Uranium, consider the following statements: It has t...
Recently, physicists in Japan while studying the atoms of heavy elements discovered a previously unknown isotope of uranium-241.
- Uranium was discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth, a German chemist.
- It is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the periodic table, with atomic number 92.
- It has the highest atomic weight of all naturally occurring elements.
- It occurs naturally in low concentrations in soil, rock and water, and is commercially extracted from uranium-bearing minerals such as uraninite.
- Uranium ore can be mined from open pits or underground excavations.
- In India, Jaduguda in the Singhbhum Thrust Belt (in the state of Jharkhand, formerly part of Bihar) is the first uranium deposit to be discovered in the country in 1951 and several uranium occurrences have also been found in the Cuddapah basin of Andhra Pradesh.
- In the Mahadek basin of Meghalaya in the Northeastern part of the country, sandstone-type uranium deposits like Domiasiat, Wahkhyn, and Mawsynram provide near-surface flat ore bodies amenable to commercial operations.
Hence only statement 1 is correct.