Radioactive Decay: the Half-Life of Cobalt-60 Is 5

question 58

Multiple Choice

Radioactive decay: The half-life of cobalt-60 is 5.3 years, while that of strontium-90 is 28 years. Suppose you have a sample of each, such that they initially contain equal numbers of atoms of these nuclides. How will the activities (number of decays per second) of the samples compare?

• A) The activity of the cobalt-60 sample will be greater.
• B) The activities cannot be compared without more information.
• C) The activities will be equal.
• D) The activity of the strontium-90 sample will be greater.

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Definitions:

Major Complication or Co-Morbidity

A significant secondary condition that can occur along with the primary disease, affecting the patient's recovery or treatment.

DRG Assignment

The process of grouping patients into Diagnostic Related Groups for the purpose of hospital payment and benchmarking.

UHDDS

Uniform Hospital Discharge Data Set, a standard for collecting data on hospital discharges, focusing on consistency in coding and reporting patient care information.

Hospital Discharge

The process of a patient leaving the hospital after the completion of treatment.