Final answer:
The effective half-life can be calculated using the formula 1/t_eff = 1/t_B + 1/t_P, where t_B is the biological half-life and t_P is the physical half-life. Given t_B = 24 hours and t_P = 6 hours, the effective half-life is 4.8 hours.
Step-by-step explanation:
The effective half-life can be calculated when the biological half-life and the physical half-life are known. The effective half-life represents the combined effect of both the biological and physical processes. To calculate the effective half-life, we need to use the formula:
1/teff = 1/tB + 1/tP
Where:
teff is the effective half-life,
tB is the biological half-life,
tP is the physical half-life.
Given that the biological half-life is 24 hours (1 day) and the physical half-life is 6 hours, we can substitute these values into the formula:
1/teff = 1/24 + 1/6
1/teff = (1/24) + (4/24) = 5/24
To find the effective half-life, we take the reciprocal of both sides:
teff = 24/5 = 4.8 hours