Final answer:
The 'Effective dose - 50%' refers to the dose that elicits a significant response in 50% of the test population. It's used to measure the toxicity of a substance, along with the 'Lethal Dose-50%', which is the amount lethal to half of a test population. These concepts are crucial for understanding the safety and health effects of various substances, including smoke exposure.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question seems to revolve around the concept of doses in toxicology, particularly related to one's exposure to smoke. We aim to define what an 'Effective dose - 50%' (ED-50) means. Accordingly, ED-50 is the dose that results in a significant response in 50% of subjects, which is another way of saying it is the point at which half of the test population exhibits a noticeable effect from the substance in question. This can include both lethal and sub-lethal effects, depending on the context.
Comparably, the 'Lethal Dose-50%' (LD-50) refers to a measure used to indicate the dose that is lethal to 50% of a test population, usually within a certain time frame. Both ED-50 and LD-50 are critical in understanding substance toxicity and are widely used in environmental biology.
It is significant to mention that the lethal level of smoke exposure or any other substance's lethal concentration, will be higher than the dose that incapacitates. This is because incapacitation does not necessarily mean the exposure is lethal, but it could lead to a state where the individual cannot escape or respond to the threat, potentially leading to a lethal outcome if exposure continues.