Question detail
What happens if a medical tracer has a very long half-life?
Try the question, check the answer, then read the explanation to understand the curriculum point.
At a glance
MCQ
Type
practice
Style
Topic
Hazards and uses of radioactive emissions and of background radiation
Question
- A. It becomes ineffective quickly
- B. It can increase long-term hazard
- C. It is easier to detect
- D. It is more useful for immediate imaging
Answer
The correct answer is B: It can increase long-term hazard.
Explanation
The correct answer is B: It can increase long-term hazard. This supports the learning objective "Explain why medical tracers need suitable half-lives." in Uses of nuclear radiation because it uses the correct atomic and nuclear radiation relationship for Hazards and uses of radioactive emissions and of background radiation. The other options are less suitable because they do not match the required Uses of nuclear radiation idea: It becomes ineffective quickly; It is easier to detect; It is more useful for immediate imaging.
Common mistake
Misunderstanding Half-Lives
Students often confuse the concept of half-life with the total time a radioactive isotope is active, thinking it refers to the entire duration of radioactivity rather than the time taken for half of the radioactive atoms to decay.
To fix this, students should focus on understanding that half-life is a specific time period during which half of the radioactive material decays, and that isotopes can remain active for multiple half-lives.
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