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If everyone in Australia received an extra 0.05 mSv per year of radiation, what would be the increase in the number of cancer deaths per year? Assume there are (200 × 10⁴) deaths per Sv of radiation per year. What percent of the actual number of cancer deaths recorded is this?

a) (1.0 × 10³); 1%
b) (2.0 × 10³); 2%
c) (3.0 × 10³); 3%
d) (4.0 × 10³); 4%

User Ashwani
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Final answer:

To find the increased number of cancer deaths from an extra 0.05 mSv/year of radiation in Australia, multiply the extra dose in Sv by the death rate per Sv, resulting in an additional 1.0 × 10³ deaths. The percentage of actual cancer deaths this increase represents requires the total number of cancer deaths per year, which isn't provided, but indicates a minimal percentage increase.

Step-by-step explanation:

If everyone in Australia received an extra 0.05 mSv per year of radiation, we would first convert this extra dosage into sieverts (Sv), which would be 0.05 mSv = 0.05 × 10-3 Sv = 5 × 10-5 Sv. Given the assumption that there are 200 × 10-4 deaths per Sv per year, we can calculate the additional number of cancer deaths per year by multiplying the extra dose in Sv by the given death rate:

Additional deaths = Extra dose in Sv × Death rate per Sv

Additional deaths = (5 × 10-5 Sv) × (200 × 10-4 deaths/Sv)

Additional deaths = (5 × 200 × 10-9) = 1000 deaths = 1.0 × 103 deaths

To calculate the percentage of actual cancer deaths this represents, we would need the total number of cancer deaths recorded in Australia per year. Assuming this number is known and represented as 'x', the percentage would be: (1.0 × 103 / x) × 100%. Without the actual number, we can't give an exact percentage, but the calculation implies a relatively small percentage increase due to the extra radiation exposure.

User Bobbaluba
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