Potassium is a crucial element for the healthy operation of the human body. Potassium occurs naturally in our environment (and thus our bodies) as three isotopes: Potassium-39, Potassium-40, and Potassium-41. Their current abundances are 93.26%, 0.012% and 6.728%. A typical human body contains about 3.0 grams of Potassium per kilogram of body mass.   How much Potassium-40 is present in a person with a mass of 80 kg? If, on average, the decay of Potassium-40 results in 1.10 MeV of energy absorbed, determine the effective dose (in Sieverts) per year due to Potassium-40 in an 80-kg body. Assume an RBE of 1.2. The half-life of Potassium-40 is 1.28 x 109 years.

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Potassium is a crucial element for the healthy operation of the human body. Potassium occurs naturally in our environment (and thus our bodies) as three isotopes: Potassium-39, Potassium-40, and Potassium-41. Their current abundances are 93.26%, 0.012% and 6.728%. A typical human body contains about 3.0 grams of Potassium per kilogram of body mass.

 

  1. How much Potassium-40 is present in a person with a mass of 80 kg?
  2. If, on average, the decay of Potassium-40 results in 1.10 MeV of energy absorbed, determine the effective dose (in Sieverts) per year due to Potassium-40 in an 80-kg body. Assume an RBE of 1.2. The half-life of Potassium-40 is 1.28 x 10years.
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Step 1

1) Amount of Potassium-40

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Step 2

Number of particles decayed

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