Free Biological and Medical Uses of Radiation MCQs with Answers

• A. alpha particles for imaging
• B. gamma rays for treating cancer
• C. neutrons for sterilising instruments
• D. X rays for dental work

Explanation: Its penetrating gamma radiation can be focused on a deep tumour from outside the body, and because dividing cells are more sensitive, the…

• A. a long half life and emit alpha particles
• B. a short half life and emit gamma rays that escape the body for detection
• C. a very long half life and emit beta particles
• D. no radiation at all

Explanation: Gamma radiation escapes the body so an external camera can detect it, and a short half life means the activity falls quickly once the scan…

• A. heats the tissue significantly
• B. ionises molecules, including DNA, producing reactive fragments
• C. makes the tissue radioactive
• D. changes the pH of the cells

Explanation: Ionisation breaks chemical bonds and generates free radicals that go on to damage DNA, which may kill the cell or, if it is repaired…

• A. gray
• B. sievert
• C. becquerel
• D. joule

Explanation: The sievert multiplies the absorbed dose in grays by a quality factor, which is 1 for beta and gamma but about 20 for alpha particles…

• A. Ordinary water
• B. Heavy water
• C. Lead
• D. Aluminum

Explanation: Lead is a dense material with a high atomic number, so it absorbs and attenuates gamma rays more effectively than water or aluminium of…

• A. Chargeless
• B. Massless
• C. Highly penetrating
• D. All of above

Explanation: Gamma rays are used for sterilisation mainly because their high penetrating power allows them to pass through sealed packages and reach…

• A. Sr-90
• B. I-131
• C. CA-41
• D. C-14

Explanation: Carbon-14 is a useful tracer because it behaves chemically like ordinary carbon and can be followed through biological and chemical…

• A. ZnS
• B. Barium platinocyanide
• C. Calcium tungstate
• D. All of above

Explanation: Alpha particles can produce fluorescence in scintillating materials such as zinc sulphide, barium platinocyanide and calcium tungstate.

• A. α-rays
• B. β-rays
• C. γ-rays
• D. B and C have equal antiseptic propertie

Explanation: Gamma rays have very high penetrating power, so they can pass through packaged surgical instruments, medical supplies and bandages to…

• A. Cobalt-60
• B. Strontium-90
• C. Carbon-14
• D. Nickel-63

Explanation: Cobalt-60 emits penetrating gamma rays, which can be directed at tumours in radiotherapy to damage cancer-cell DNA.

• A. I-113
• B. I-120
• C. I-131
• D. I-140

Explanation: Because of this, radioactive iodine (RAI, also called I-131) can be used to treat thyroid cancer.

• A. Carbon-14
• B. Carbon-12
• C. Phosphorus-3
• D. Sodium-24

Explanation: Salt solutions containing compounds of sodium-24 are injected into the bloodstream to help locate obstructions to the flow of blood and…

• A. leukemia
• B. radiation sickness
• C. skin cancer
• D. gene mutations
• E. all of the above

Explanation: Radiation can lead to multiple adverse health effects, including leukemia, radiation sickness, skin cancer, and gene mutations.

• A. Kidney Function
• B. Plasma Blood Volume
• C. Iron in Plasma
• D. Thyroid Function

Explanation: The sodium-24 isotope is used to study the circulation of blood. Sodium-24 (Na-24) IS commonly used in medicine for estimating plasma…

• A. 6 hours
• B. 15 hours
• C. 8 hours
• D. 15 days

Explanation: Sodium-24 is a radioactive isotope of sodium with a half-life of approximately 15 hours.

• A. UV
• B. IR
• C. X rays
• D. gamma rays

Explanation: The greenhouse effect is when some of the infrared radiation (IR) from the Sun passes through the atmosphere, but most is absorbed and…

• A. Fractures
• B. Temperature
• C. Blood pressure
• D. All of these

Explanation: X-ray uses a very small dose of ionising radiation to produce pictures of any bone in the body.

• A. Inverted
• B. Real
• C. Both A and B
• D. Virtual

Explanation: X-rays are electromagnetic waves that can penetrate through materials and are used in various medical and industrial applications…

• A. Neutrons
• B. Photons
• C. Electrons
• D. Neons

Explanation: X-rays emit photons that cause damage to living tissues. As X-rays are absorbed in tissues, they break molecular bonds and create reactive…

• A. Photon
• B. X-rays
• C. Beta
• D. White

Explanation: OPTION B:X-rays are used in medical scanning. Bone is more opaque to X-rays than flesh, therefore if X-rays are allowed to pass through…