A doctor suspects that one of the kidneys of a patient is not working properly. The doctor injects him with a radioactive impurity, 1MBq of...

      

A doctor suspects that one of the kidneys of a patient is not working properly. The doctor injects him with a radioactive impurity, 1MBq of iodine-131 (half-life 8 days) which travels to his kidneys. A normal kidney gradually removes all impurity from the blood in about 20 minutes. The radioactivity in his kidney is monitored. using gamma ray detectors. The graph below shows the results.
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a) Which kidney do you think is not working properly? Explain your answer.
b) Why do you think that a gamma ray emitter was used as the injected impurity instead of a beta emitter?
c) Why would it be less suitable to use as an impurity a material with a very short half-life?

  

Answers


sharon
a) Left kidney: fails to remove the impurity in 20 minutes.
b) Only gamma radiation can pass out through the body to reach the detector.
c) Half-life must be significantly longer than the time taken for the kidney to function.
sharon kalunda answered the question on March 25, 2019 at 13:37


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