Course Introduction
Health Physics
Study Guide Questions
Health Physics is an interdisciplinary course that explores the principles and practices of radiation protection, focusing on safeguarding people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation. The course covers the foundations of radiation physics, sources and types of radiation, biological effects of radiation exposure, measurement and detection techniques, regulatory standards, and operational strategies for minimizing radiation risks in medical, industrial, and research settings. Students will gain practical knowledge in assessing radiation hazards, implementing safety protocols, and applying government regulations to ensure effective radiation safety management.
Recommended Textbook
Radiation Protection in Medical Radiography 7th Edition by Mary Sherer
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14 Chapters
339 Verified Questions
339 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Radiation Protection
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is a special form of radiation that is capable of creating electrically charged particles by removing orbital electrons from the atom of the material with which it interacts?
A) Ionizing radiation
B) Nonionizing radiation
C) Subatomic radiation
D) Ultrasonic radiation
Answer: A
Q2) Which of the following is the intention behind the ALARA concept?
A) To keep radiation exposure and consequent dose at the highest possible level
B) To keep radiation exposure and consequent dose at an average level
C) To keep radiation exposure and consequent dose at the lowest possible level
D) To avoid the use of ionizing radiation in radiologic practice
Answer: C
Q3) The millisievert (mSv) is equal to:
A) 1/10 of a sievert.
B) 1/100 of a sievert.
C) 1/1000 of a sievert.
D) 1/10,000 of a sievert.
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: Radiation: Types, Sources, and Doses Received
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Sample Questions
Q1) What was the total average annual effective dose from natural background and human-made radiations combined as of 2006?
A) 2.0 mSv
B) 3.2 mSv
C) 6.3 mSv
D) 9.6 mSv
Answer: C
Q2) What is the latent period for most radiation-induced cancers?
A) 1 year
B) 5 years
C) 7 years
D) 15 years or more
Answer: D
Q3) A flight on a typical commercial airliner results in an equivalent dose rate of:
A) 0.001 to 0.005 mSv/hr.
B) 0.005 to 0.01 mSv/hr.
C) 0.02 to 0.04 mSv/hr.
D) 0.05 to 0.09 mSv/hr.
Answer: B
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Chapter 3: Interaction of X-Radiation With Matter
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Sample Questions
Q1) When a vacancy exists in an inner electron shell of an atom (as a result of photoelectric effect,Compton scattering,or bombardment by other electrons),the energy liberated when this vacancy is filled,instead of emerging from the atom as fluorescent radiation,can be transferred to another electron of the atom,thereby ejecting the electron.Such an emitted electron is called a(n):
A) Auger electron.
B) Compton electron.
C) Edison electron.
D) Sievert electron.
Answer: A
Q2) What is the effective atomic number of compact bone?
A) 5.9
B) 7.4
C) 7.6
D) 13.8
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Radiation Quantities and Units
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24 Verified Questions
24 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Who discovered x-rays on November 8,1895?
A) Thomas A. Edison
B) Clarence Madison Dally
C) Louis Harold Gray
D) Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
Q2) One thousand five hundred rem equals _________ Sieverts.
A) 15
B) 150
C) 1500
D) 15,000
Q3) Which of the following effects must be measured to determine the total amount of radiation exposure in a specific volume of dry air under standard conditions of pressure and temperature (760 mm Hg or 1 atmosphere at sea level and 22° C)?
A) Biologic damage
B) Cellular activity
C) Energy absorption
D) Quantity of ionization
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Chapter 5: Radiation Monitoring
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Sample Questions
Q1) When the sensing crystals contained in the thermoluminescent dosimeter are exposed to ionizing radiation,which of the following occurs?
A) The protons in the crystalline lattice structure of the LiF molecule absorb energy and are excited to a higher energy level or bands.
B) The neutrons in the crystalline lattice structure of the LiF molecule absorb energy and are excited to a higher energy level or bands.
C) Some of the electrons in the crystalline lattice structure of the LiF molecule absorb energy and are excited to higher energy levels or bands.
D) The electrons freed from the LiF molecule are trapped at a lower energy level or bands.
Q2) Which of the following is not true about field survey instruments?
A) They are all equally sensitive in the detection of ionizing radiation.
B) They detect the presence of radiation and, when properly calibrated, give a reasonable accurate measure of the exposure.
C) They are durable enough to withstand normal use.
D) They are reliable.
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Chapter 6: Overview of Cell Biology
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Sample Questions
Q1) How many different amino acids are involved in protein synthesis?
A) 7
B) 15
C) 22
D) 39
Q2) If exposure to outside influence such as ionizing radiation damages the components of the cell involved in molecular synthesis beyond repair,then cells: 1)behave abnormally.
2)die.
3)take on a glowing greenish color when viewed under an electronic microscope.
A) 1 and 2 only
B) 1 and 3 only
C) 2 and 3 only
D) 1, 2, and 3
Q3) Inorganic materials are compounds that:
A) contain only very small amounts of carbon.
B) contain moderate amounts of carbon.
C) contain large amounts of carbon.
D) do not contain carbon.
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Molecular and Cellular Radiation Biology
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Sample Questions
Q1) OH* + OH* = __________.
A) H2O
B) HOH+
C) HOH-
D) H2O2
Q2) One micron (mm) = __________.
A) 10-6 m
B) 10+6 m
C) 10-3 m
D) 10+3 m
Q3) Which of the following means the loss or change of a nitrogenous base in the DNA chain?
A) Aneuploidy
B) Bleb
C) Free radical
D) Mutation
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Chapter 8: Early Deterministic Radiation Effects on Organ Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) The correct order of development for the female germ cell from the stem cell phase to the mature cell is:
A) ovum, mature follicle, corpus luteum, primordial follicle.
B) corpus luteum, primordial follicle, mature follicle, ovum.
C) primordial follicle, ovum, corpus luteum, mature follicle.
D) primordial follicle, mature follicle, corpus luteum, ovum.
Q2) In 1898,after sustaining severe burns attributed to radiation exposure,this Boston dentist began investigating the hazards of radiation exposure and became the first known advocate of radiation protection:
A) Marie Curie
B) Clarence Madison Dally
C) Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
D) William Herbert Rollins
Q3) A single absorbed dose of 2 Gyt can cause a radiation-induced skin erythema within:
A) 1 hour after irradiation.
B) 6 hours after irradiation.
C) 12 hours after irradiation.
D) 24 to 48 hours after irradiation.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Late Deterministic and Stochastic Radiation
Effects on Organ Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) The human body can incorporate radium into bone because it is chemically similar to:
A) calcium
B) potassium
C) phosphorus
D) sodium
Q2) Radiation dose-response curves can be used to predict the risk of ______________ in human populations that have been exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation.
A) cataract formation
B) genetic effects
C) malignancy
D) spontaneous abortions
Q3) Uranium miners in the Colorado plateau who developed lung cancer years after exposure provide an example of which of the following?
A) Early deterministic somatic effects
B) Late stochastic effects
C) Early genetic effects
D) Late genetic effects
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Chapter 10: Dose Limits for Exposure to Ionizing Radiation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following groups is run by the government of Japan,primarily to study Japanese atomic bomb survivors?
A) National Research Council Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation
B) International Commission on Radiological Protection
C) Radiation Effects Research Foundation
D) Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Q2) To define ALARA,health care facilities usually adopt investigation levels,defined as Level I and Level II.In the United States,these levels are traditionally _______ to ______ the applicable regulatory standards.
A) one twentieth, one tenth
B) one tenth, three tenths
C) three tenths, one half
D) one half, seven tenths
Q3) Which of the following terms means "random in nature"?
A) Deterministic
B) Epidemiologic
C) Nonstochastic
D) Stochastic
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Chapter 11: Equipment Design for Radiation Protection
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Sample Questions
Q1) When an exposed computed radiography imaging plate is ready to be processed,an imaging reading unit is used to scan the photostimulable phosphor imaging plate with a helium-neon laser beam.This process results in the emission of violet light that is changed into an electronic signal by a device called a:
A) charge-coupled-device array.
B) photodiode.
C) photomultiplier tube.
D) scintillator.
Q2) Sharper size restriction of the radiographic beam is achieved when a cone or cylinder is:
A) longer.
B) shorter.
C) made of aluminum.
D) made of durable plastic.
Q3) Which of the following is not an x-ray beam limitation device?
A) Aperture diaphragm
B) Collimator
C) Filter
D) Extension cylinder
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Page 13
Chapter 12: Management of Patient Radiation Dose During Diagnostic X-Ray Procedures
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following must always be the first step in protection of the reproductive organs?
A) Adequate and precise collimation of the radiographic beam to include only the anatomy of interest
B) Use of gonadal shielding
C) Use of a mobile protective shielding device
D) Use of digital imaging equipment rather than conventional equipment
Q2) ________________________ are the sensing devices most often used to measure skin dose directly.
A) Thermoluminescent dosimeters
B) A sequence of aluminum equivalent filters of varying thicknesses
C) Lead-impregnated filters
D) Molybdenum and rhodium filters
Q3) Of the following radiologic procedures,which is(are) considered nonessential?
A) A chest x-ray on scheduled admission to the hospital
B) Lumbar spine x-rays as part of a preemployment physical examination
C) Whole-body multislice computed tomography (CT) screening
D) All of the above
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Chapter 13: Management of Imaging Personnel Radiation
Dose During Diagnostic X-Ray Procedures
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Sample Questions
Q1) To ensure that the lifetime risk of occupationally exposed persons remains acceptable,the lifetime effective dose in mSv should not exceed:
A) the occupationally exposed person's age in years.
B) 5 times the occupationally exposed person's age in years.
C) 10 times the occupationally exposed person's age in years.
D) 20 times the occupationally exposed person's age in years.
Q2) If the intensity of the x-ray beam is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source,how does the intensity of the x-ray beam change when the distance from the source of radiation and a measurement point is tripled?
A) It increases by a factor of 3 at the new distance.
B) It increases by a factor of 9 at the new distance.
C) It decreases by a factor of 9 at the new distance.
D) It decreases by a factor of 3 at the new distance.
Q3) During which of the following x-ray examinations should a radiographer always wear a thyroid shield?
A) Fluoroscopy and special procedures
B) Routine mobile radiographic procedures
C) General diagnostic radiographic procedures performed in an x-ray room
D) Digital radiography procedures and computed radiography procedures
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Radioisotopes and Radiation Protection
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Sample Questions
Q1) The actual long-term health effects of a "dirty bomb" are likely to be:
A) catastrophic.
B) maximal.
C) minimal.
D) nonexistent.
Q2) In __________,a neutron transforms itself into a combination of a proton and an energetic electron.
A) alpha decay
B) beta decay
C) gamma decay
D) x-ray absorption
Q3) If enough explosives are used to spread radioactive material over a broad area,then radioactivity is:
A) extremely hazardous and may be much higher than background levels.
B) moderately hazardous and may be higher than background levels.
C) slightly hazardous and may be only slightly higher than background levels.
D) diluted and may not be much higher than background levels.
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