A safety officer compares two emergency procedures for a technician who must enter a room containing a gamma source. Both procedures complete the same task.
A detector is used to determine the dose that the technician would receive each minute at the working position.
| Procedure | Dose received each minute / µSv | Time in the room / minutes |
|---|---|---|
| P | 8.0 | 18 |
| Q | 14 | 8 |
Calculate the total dose received by the technician for each procedure.
A technician states, 'Procedure P presents less risk because the dose received each minute is lower.'
Evaluate this statement. Include how gamma radiation can damage tissue in your answer.
The time taken for procedure Q cannot be reduced.
Suggest one change that would reduce the dose received by the technician.
104 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Physics 5.4 Uses and dangers of EM radiation, covering 5.4.1 Dangers of electromagnetic radiation, 5.4.2 Uses of electromagnetic radiation, 5.4.3 Radio waves and oscillations in circuits, and 5.4.4 Changes in atoms and nuclei generating radiation. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.