Question

However, in town z, the water has both metal m and n, and the residents have long-term kidney damage. what conclusion can be made about the two metals? a. more metals cause acute effects but not chronic effects. b. each metal is causing both acute and chronic effects. c. the heavy metals have a combined toxic effect. d. the heavy metals have a canceling toxic effect.

Answer 1

The most plausible conclusion is that metals M and N have a combined toxic effect (option c) on the residents leading to long-term kidney damage, likely because of bioaccumulation and the toxic nature of heavy metals when present together. The correct answer is c. the heavy metals have a combined toxic effect.

Step-by-step explanation:

The scenario presented in the question describes residents who have long-term kidney damage from the consumption of water containing both metal M and N. Considering the provided information, chronic effects are seen as a result of prolonged exposure to small amounts of a substance, such as heavy metals including mercury, lead, and cadmium. These toxic heavy metals can accumulate in the human body and may cause various health issues, including kidney damage.

Given the information that the presence of both metals M and N in the town's water supply is correlated with long-term kidney damage, the most reasonable conclusion is that the two metals may have a combined toxic effect. Therefore, the correct answer is (c) the heavy metals have a combined toxic effect. This means that the interaction of both metals M and N in the water could be responsible for the kidney damage, not necessarily that they each cause chronic and acute effects individually or that they have a canceling effect on each other's toxicity.