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Radionuclide imaging and therapy: AQA A‑Level Physics questions

Every AQA A-Level Physics exam question on 3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy, 2016–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.

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2,714 questions

  1. Q02.1

    June 2025 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    2 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 02.1: Show that about 6 × 1015 nuclei of 99Mo decay between t = 0 and t = 24 hours. decay constant for 99Mo = 2.8 × 10−6 s−1 [2 marks]

  2. Q02.2

    June 2025 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    3 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 02.2: 90% of the 99Mo nuclei decay to form 99mTc nuclei. The other 10% decay to form different nuclei. Estimate the number of 99mTc nuclei that are extracted from the

  3. Q02.3

    June 2025 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    6 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy3.10.4 Non-ionising imaging
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 02.3: Information about heart function can be obtained from a multi-gated acquisition (MUGA) scan or from a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) scan. Heart specialists

  4. Q04.1

    June 2024 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    2 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 04.1: Explain what is meant by this statement. [2 marks]

  5. Q04.2

    June 2024 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    3 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 04.2: The physical half-life of fluorine-18 is 110 minutes. Calculate the percentage of fluorine-18 that remains in the person 4.0 hours after it is injected. [3 mark

  6. Q04.3

    June 2024 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    1 mark3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 04.3: Name the particles emitted when a fluorine-18 nucleus decays. [1 mark]

  7. Q04.4

    June 2024 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    4 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 04.4: Figure 1 shows the cross-section of a body inside a ring of detectors during a PET scan. The side of each square represents 5 cm. Figure 1 One of the products f

  8. Q01

    June 2023 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    2 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 01: Brachytherapy is used to treat small tumours. In this technique a sealed radioactive source is placed inside a patient’s body next to the tumour. Explain one ad

  9. Q01.1

    November 2021 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    4 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 01.1: Explain why the value of the half-life of technetium-99m: • makes it suitable for use as a tracer • means that it must be produced in a generator on site. [4 ma

  10. Q01.2

    November 2021 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    4 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 01.2: Technetium-99m emits only gamma rays. Explain why this makes technetium-99m suitable for use as a tracer. [4 marks]

  11. Q01.3

    November 2021 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    3 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 01.3: A gamma camera can be used to form images when using a tracer. Figure 1 shows a photomultiplier tube from a gamma camera. Figure 1 At the crystal scintillator,

  12. Q01.4

    November 2021 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    4 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 01.4: Iodine-131 is a medical tracer that can be detected using a gamma camera. Iodine-131 has a physical half-life of 8.0 days. A patient is injected with iodine-131

  13. Q03.1

    June 2017 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    1 mark3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2017 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 03.1: State what is meant by a radioisotope. [1 mark]

  14. Q03.2

    June 2017 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    1 mark3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2017 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 03.2: The radionuclide used in the PET scan has a physical half-life of 110 minutes. The radionuclide is excreted from the body with a biological half-life of 185 min

  15. Q03.3

    June 2017 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    3 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2017 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 03.3: Discuss what might be a suitable length of time for the patient to relax between injecting the radionuclide and moving the patient into the PET scanner. [3 mark

  16. Q03.4

    June 2017 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    2 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2017 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 03.4: The decay of the radionuclide results in the emission of a positron. Two of the detectors, directly opposite to each other, are triggered as they each receive a

  17. Q03.5

    June 2017 · Paper 3 Medical physics

    2 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2017 Paper 3 Medical physics, question 03.5: Figure 1 shows the head of a patient that is 0.2 m across, placed centrally between two of the many detectors in a PET scanner. Figure 1 To determine the positi

  18. Q03

    Specimen · Paper 3 Medical physics

    6 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy3.10.4 Non-ionising imaging
    Mark scheme (PDF)
    The whole paper ↗
    Specimen Paper 3 Medical physics, question 03: Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and ultrasound scans are both used in medica diagnosis. Compare the quality of the information obtained from these scans in t

  19. Q04.1

    Specimen · Paper 3 Medical physics

    2 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    Specimen Paper 3 Medical physics, question 04.1: Explain why the effective half-life of a radionuclide in a biological system is always less than the physical half-life. [2 marks] 0 4 . 1

  20. Q04.2

    Specimen · Paper 3 Medical physics

    4 marks3.10.6 Radionuclide imaging and therapy
    The whole paper ↗
    Specimen Paper 3 Medical physics, question 04.2: The physical half-life of a radionuclide is 20 days. The nuclide was administered to a patient. Initially the corrected count rate at the patient’s body was 270
All 21 questions on Radionuclide imaging and therapy, as a list
  1. June 2025, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q02.1 (2 marks): Show that about 6 × 1015 nuclei of 99Mo decay between t = 0 and t = 24 hours. decay constant for 99Mo = 2.8 × 10−6 s−1 [2 marks]
  2. June 2025, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q02.2 (3 marks): 90% of the 99Mo nuclei decay to form 99mTc nuclei. The other 10% decay to form different nuclei. Estimate the number of 99mTc nuclei that are extracted from the
  3. June 2025, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q02.3 (6 marks): Information about heart function can be obtained from a multi-gated acquisition (MUGA) scan or from a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) scan. Heart specialists
  4. June 2024, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q04.1 (2 marks): Explain what is meant by this statement. [2 marks]
  5. June 2024, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q04.2 (3 marks): The physical half-life of fluorine-18 is 110 minutes. Calculate the percentage of fluorine-18 that remains in the person 4.0 hours after it is injected. [3 mark
  6. June 2024, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q04.3 (1 mark): Name the particles emitted when a fluorine-18 nucleus decays. [1 mark]
  7. June 2024, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q04.4 (4 marks): Figure 1 shows the cross-section of a body inside a ring of detectors during a PET scan. The side of each square represents 5 cm. Figure 1 One of the products f
  8. June 2023, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q01 (2 marks): Brachytherapy is used to treat small tumours. In this technique a sealed radioactive source is placed inside a patient’s body next to the tumour. Explain one ad
  9. November 2021, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q01.1 (4 marks): Explain why the value of the half-life of technetium-99m: • makes it suitable for use as a tracer • means that it must be produced in a generator on site. [4 ma
  10. November 2021, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q01.2 (4 marks): Technetium-99m emits only gamma rays. Explain why this makes technetium-99m suitable for use as a tracer. [4 marks]
  11. November 2021, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q01.3 (3 marks): A gamma camera can be used to form images when using a tracer. Figure 1 shows a photomultiplier tube from a gamma camera. Figure 1 At the crystal scintillator,
  12. November 2021, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q01.4 (4 marks): Iodine-131 is a medical tracer that can be detected using a gamma camera. Iodine-131 has a physical half-life of 8.0 days. A patient is injected with iodine-131
  13. June 2017, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q03.1 (1 mark): State what is meant by a radioisotope. [1 mark]
  14. June 2017, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q03.2 (1 mark): The radionuclide used in the PET scan has a physical half-life of 110 minutes. The radionuclide is excreted from the body with a biological half-life of 185 min
  15. June 2017, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q03.3 (3 marks): Discuss what might be a suitable length of time for the patient to relax between injecting the radionuclide and moving the patient into the PET scanner. [3 mark
  16. June 2017, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q03.4 (2 marks): The decay of the radionuclide results in the emission of a positron. Two of the detectors, directly opposite to each other, are triggered as they each receive a
  17. June 2017, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q03.5 (2 marks): Figure 1 shows the head of a patient that is 0.2 m across, placed centrally between two of the many detectors in a PET scanner. Figure 1 To determine the positi
  18. Specimen, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q03 (6 marks): Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and ultrasound scans are both used in medica diagnosis. Compare the quality of the information obtained from these scans in t
  19. Specimen, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q04.1 (2 marks): Explain why the effective half-life of a radionuclide in a biological system is always less than the physical half-life. [2 marks] 0 4 . 1
  20. Specimen, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q04.2 (4 marks): The physical half-life of a radionuclide is 20 days. The nuclide was administered to a patient. Initially the corrected count rate at the patient’s body was 270
  21. Specimen, Paper 3 Medical physics, Q04.3 (4 marks): Table 1 gives the properties of two radionuclides. Table 1 Technetium 99 m Iodine 131 emitted radiation gamma beta− and gamma half-life / hours 6.0 190 energy o

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