Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page1

Contents
1 Basicphysicaldefinitions............................................1
2 Atomicphysics,electromagneticwaves,Xray...........2
3 Absorption,luminescence,lasers...............................3
4 Geometricaloptics,microscopy,electronmicroscopy4
5 Nuclearphysics,radioactivity......................................5
6 Interaction of radiation with material, detection of
radiation......................................................................6
7 Radiation biophysics, dosimetry, biological effect of
radiations....................................................................6
8 Experimental and diagnostic use of isotopes,
accelerators,gammacameraCT,PET,SPECT..............7
9 Basic principles and applications of nuclear magnetic
resonance(NMR).Electrospinresonance...................7
10 Thermodynamics.........................................................9
11 Diffusion......................................................................9
12 Biologicalmembranesandmembranetransport.....10
13 BiophysicsoftheSensorySystem.............................12
14 Sound,Ultrasound....................................................13
15 Information and entropy, communication systems,
feedback....................................................................13
16 Modernmicroscopies,flowcytometry,sedimentation,
electrophoresis(Medicinestudentsonly).................14

1 Basic physical definitions

1. Define kinetic energy in words and with a formula,
and give its unit!
Kinetic energy is the amount of work an object with a
mass of m moving at a speed of v can perform while its
speed is reduced to zero:
2
1
2
kinetic
E mv =

The unit of kinetic energy is joule.

2. Define electron volt (eV)!
Electron volt is a unit of energy. It is equivalent to the
amount of kinetic energy gained by a single electron
when accelerated through a voltage difference of 1 V.

3. Define what force is!
Force is a vector quantity characterizing the capability
to cause acceleration.

4. Define acceleration in words and with a formula!
Acceleration is the rate of velocity change with time:
dv
a
dt
=
, where a is acceleration, dv is the change in
velocity in time t.

5. Define Newtons 2nd law in words and with a
formula!
The acceleration of an object (a) is given by the ratio of
the net (or resultant) force acting upon it (F
n
) and the
mass of the object (m):
n
F
a
m
=


6. Define centripetal acceleration in words and with a
formula!
Centripetal acceleration (a
c
) is the rate of change in the
direction of velocity with time:
2
2
c
v
a r
r
e = =
, where v is velocity, r is the radius of the
path, e is angular velocity.


7. Define angular velocity in words and with a
formula!
Angular velocity (e) is the ratio of the angle (A, usually
measured in radians) traversed to the amount of time
(At) it takes to traverse the angle:
t

e
A
=
A


8. Define momentum in words and with a formula!
Momentum (p) is the product of the mass (m) and the
velocity (v) of an object:
p mv =

9. Define moment of inertia in words and with a
formula!
Moment of inertia (I) serves the same purpose in
circular motion as mass in linear motion. It
characterized the resistance of an object against
angular acceleration, i.e. the change in angular velocity.
Moment of inertia of a point-like object can be
calculated by the following equation:
2
I mr = , where m is the mass of the object, r is the
distance of the object from the axis of rotation.

10. Define angular momentum!
Angular momentum is analogous to momentum, it
serves the same purpose in circular motion as
momentum does in linear motion. By definition, the
product of the angular velocity and the moment of
inertia of an object is its angular momentum.

11. Define the potential energy of an object in a
homogenous gravitational field!
The potential energy of an object with mass m at a
height of h in a homogenous gravitational field
characterized by a gravitational acceleration of g is
given by the following equation:
pot
E mgh =

12. Define the potential energy of a charged object in
an electrostatic field!
The electrostatic potential energy of an object with
charge Q at position A in an electrostatic field is:
pot A
E QU = ,where U
A
is the electric potential at point
A.

13. Define work in words and with a formula!
Work is the amount of energy transferred by a force. It
can be calculated according to the following formula:
W Fs = , where W is work, F is force and s is the
displacement of the object in the direction of the force.

14. Formulate the general form of the work-energy
theorem, and its special form for the electric and
homogenous gravitational fields!
General form:
( )
2 2
, ,
1
2
kinetic B kinetic A B A AB
E E m v v W = =
, m is the mass, v
B
and v
A
are the speed of the object at
point A and B, respectively, W
AB
is the work done on
the object between points A and B.
In an electric field:
, , kinetic B kinetic A AB
E E QU = , Q is the
charge of the object, U
AB
is electric potential difference
between points A and B
In a homogenous gravitational field:
, , kinetic B kinetic A AB
E E mgh = , h
AB
is the height difference
between points A and B.



Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page2
15. Define power in words and with a formula, and give
its unit!
Power is the rate at which work is done, and it is
calculated according to the following formula:
W
P
t
=
,
where P is power, W is the amount of work perform in
time t. The unit of power is watt (
J
W
s
=
).
16. Define the term and unit of voltage!
The voltage between points A and B is the difference
between the electric potentials of points A and B. The
unit of voltage is volt (V). If the voltage between points
A and B is 1V (U
B
-U
A
=1V), the amount of work required
to move a charge of 1 coulomb from point A to B is 1
joule.

17. Define electric current and derive its unit from other
SI units!
Electric current is the amount of charge transported
across a boundary per unit time. Its unit is ampere (A).
coulomb
A
second
=


18. Define resistance and give its unit!
According to Ohms law resistance (R) of a piece of
conducting material is the ratio of the voltage applied
across the piece of material (U) and the current through
the material (I):
U
R
I
=

The unit of resistance is ohm (
V
A
O =
).
19. Define what electric dipole is, and describe how to
calculate its electric dipole moment!
An electric dipole is a separated pair of
positive charge (+q) and an equal amount of
negative charge (-q). The electric dipole moment (p) is
defined by the following equation:
p q r = , where r is the separation distance between the
charges. Electric dipole moment is a vector quantity
pointing from the negative charge towards the positive
one.
2 Atomic physics, electromagnetic
waves, Xray

20. Give the energy and momentum of a photon with
frequency f.
The energy of a photon with frequency f is hf, and its
momentum is h f c h = , where h and c are
Plancks constant and the speed of light in vacuum,
respectively, and is the wavelength of the photon.

21. What is the difference between the orbital and spin
angular momenta of an electron?
- the orbital angular momentum originates from the
orbital motion of an electron; its magnitude depends on
the shape of the orbital and the interactions of the
electron with the surrounding particles.
- the spin angular momentum is an inherent property of
the electron, its magnitude is independent of the
surroundings.

22. Align in ascending order the following components
of the electromagnetic spectrum according to their
energy: microwaves, gamma, ultraviolet, visible
light, X-ray, infrared, radiowaves!
radiowaves < microwaves < infrared < visible light <
ultraviolet < X-ray, gamma


23. What is the definition of visible light?
The range of electromagnetic radiation observable by
the human eye (approximately 400-750 nm).

What is the wavelength range of ultraviolet radiation?
10nm 400nm

24. What is the wavelength range of infrared radiation?
750nm 1mm

25. Define the limiting frequency (f
max
) of braking
radiation at an accelerating voltage of U.
max
eU
f
h
=
where h is Planck's constant and e is the charge of an
electron.

26. What is the major difference between the
photoeffect and the Compton effect?
All of the energy of the X-ray (or gamma) photon is
used to ionize the atom and set the electron in motion
in photoelectric effect. On the contrary, only part of the
photon energy is used for these processes in Compton
effect, and the photon having lower energy is scattered.

27. What is the minimal energy of a -photon needed
for pair-production (not numerically)?
The energy equivalent to the rest mass of an electron
and a positron according to the Einstein mass-energy
equivalence equation: E=(m
e
+m
p
)c
2
, where m
e
and m
p

are the rest masses of an electron and a positron,
respectively, c is the speed of light in vacuum and E is
the minimal energy of a -photon inducing pair
production.

28. Why is a heavy nucleus necessary for pair-
production?
The presence of a heavy nucleus is required by the law
of conservation of momentum.

29. What is annihilation?
The process in which an electron and a positron (or in
general a particle-antiparticle pair) collide with each
other and the total mass-energy of this particle system
is converted to the energy of two gamma photons, is
called annihilation.

30. List the three most important mechanisms
responsible for the absorption of and X-rays !
- photoelectric effect
- Compton-effect
- pair-production

31. Define interference!
Interference is the superposition of waves that results in
the generation of a new wave pattern.

32. What is constructive and destructive interference?
Interference is constructive when the amplitude of the
resultant wave is greater than the amplitudes of the
individual waves, and it is destructive when the
amplitude of the resultant wave is less than that of the
individual waves.

33. What is the requirement for maximally constructive
and maximally destructive interference if two
propagating waves with identical wavelength
interfere with each other?
Maximally constructive interference takes place, if the
path difference (As) between the waves is an integer
multiple of the wavelength (): s l A = , where
l=0,1,2,3. This happens when the crest of one of the
waves is superimposed on the crest of the other one.
-q -q
Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page3
Maximally destructive interference is generated, if
1
2
s l
| |
A = +
|
\ .
, i.e. when the crest of one of the
waves is superimposed on the trough of the other one.

34. Give the condition for constructive interference for
an electromagnetic wave with wavelength
diffracted on a crystal with a grating constant of c!
(angle of incidence is 90
o
)
c coso=l , where l=0,1,2,3,...n, o=angle of diffraction
How can the overdetermination of the Laue equations
be resolved in the case of a three dimensional crystal?
Either by rotating the crystal or making powder of it.

35. What is the definition of transverse and longitudinal
waves?
In a transverse wave the displacement of oscillating
particles is perpendicular to the direction of propagation
of the wave. In a longitudinal wave the displacement is
parallel to the direction of propagation.
3 Absorption, luminescence, lasers

36. What is monochromatic light?
Light is monochromatic if its spectrum consists of a
single wavelength only

37. What kind of special characteristics does laser light
have?
- monochromatic
- coherence in time and distance
- small divergence
- high light density.

38. List the types of interactions laser light can have
with tissues!
- photothermal (laserthermy, coagulation,
vaporization, carbonization)
- fluorescence, photochemical reactions
- photodissociation
- multiphoton ionization

39. When is electromagnetic radiation coherent?
If it consists of photons capable of forming observable
interference fringes.

40. What basic phenomena is the generation of laser
emission based on?
- population inversion is needed for light amplification to
occur, and it is only possible in systems with 3 or more
energy levels
- stimulated emission is needed to give rise to coherent
monochromatic light.

41. What is the approximate coherence length of a
laser and that of a classical light source?
10
10
cm and a couple of cm, respectively

42. Align in ascending order the following transitions
according to their energy difference: vibrational,
rotational and electronic!
rotational < vibrational < electronic

43. Write the Lambert-Beer law and interpret the
variables in the formula!
0
0
lg 10
c L
J
cL A or J J
J
c
c

= = =
J - intensity of light after passing through a material with
thickness L
J
o
- incident intensity of light when it enters the sample
A absorbance (optical density or extinction)
c - molar extinction coefficient
c - concentration in mol/liter
L - optical path length.

44. What does the molar extinction coefficient depend
on?
It depends on the type of the absorbing material, the
wavelength of the light, temperature, the type of the
solvent and the environment.

45. How many fold does the intensity of light decreases
if the absorbance (optical density, extinction) of a
solution is 1?
It decreases 10-fold.

46. What is the definition of the molar extinction
coefficient?
It is the absorbance (optical density) of a solution with a
concentration of 1M and an optical path length of 1 cm.

47. At what wavelength are the characteristic
absorption maxima of proteins and nucleic acids?
proteins 280 nm, nucleic acids 260 nm

48. Which amino acids have reasonably high
absorption?
Tyr, Trp, Phe

49. What is the definition of a singlet and a triplet
state?
In a singlet and a triplet state the number of unpaired
electrons is zero and two, respectively. In a singlet and
a triplet state, the value of the resultant spin multiplicity
is 1 and 3, respectively.

50. What are the possible ways of relaxation of an
excited electron in a molecule? (List at least 5 of
them!)
- vibrational relaxation
- internal conversion
- intersystem crossing
- fluorescence
- phosphorescence
- delayed fluorescence
- energy transfer to another molecule.

51. What is the definition of fluorescence lifetime?
The time during which the number of excited molecules
decreases to 1/e-times (37 %) of its initial value.

52. What is a., scintillation, b., chemiluminescence, c.,
photoluminescence?
Processes where photon emission is elicited by
a., ionizing radiation
b., chemical reaction
c., excitation by photons.

53. How can fluorescence quantum efficiency (yield) be
defined?
The fraction of excited molecules emitting a fluorescent
photon, or the number of fluorescence photons divided
by the number of absorbed photons, or the rate
constant of fluorescence divided by the rate constants
of all possible deexcitation processes.

54. Why is the fluorescence quantum yield always
smaller than one?
Because relaxation from the excited state can be
accomplished not only by fluorescence emission.

55. What is the lifetime range of fluorescence?
t = 10
-9
10
-7
s

56. What is the lifetime range of phosphorescence?
t = 10
-6
10 s

Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page4
57. Why is phosphorescence lifetime longer than
fluorescence lifetime?
Because phosphorescence is the result of spin-
forbidden transitions.

58. What are the requirements of Frster-type
resonance energy transfer?
-the separation between the donor and the acceptor
has to be in the range of 2-10 nm
-there has to be an overlap between the emission
spectrum of the donor and the excitation spectrum of
the acceptor
-the relative orientations of the donor and the acceptor
have to be adequate.

59. Why is Frster type resonance energy transfer a
sensitive method for distance measurements?
Because its probability is proportional to the inverse
sixth power of the separation between the donor and
the acceptor.

60. What can Frster-type resonance energy transfer
be used for in biology?
For measuring inter- and intramolecular distances.

61. What is photoselection?
It is the selection of an oriented subpopulation from a
randomly oriented population of molecules by linearly
polarized light.

62. What is linearly polarized light?
Light in which the electric vectors of all photons point in
the same direction.

63. List at least five parameters which can be
determined using fluorescent measurements!
- DNA, RNA, protein and lipid content of a cell, or the
quantity of any kind of material that we tagged with a
fluorescent label.
- permeability of the cell membrane
- intracellular enzyme activities
- membrane potential
- intracellular calcium level
- intracellular pH
- presence and density of cell surface antigens and
receptors
- mitochondrial potential and the number of
mitochondria per cell.
4 Geometrical optics, microscopy,
electron microscopy

64. Define the index of refraction!
The index of refraction (n) gives the speed of light (c) in
a given material according to the following equation:
0
c
c
n
=
, where c
0
is the speed of light in vacuum.

65. Write Snells law of refraction!
A light beam is refracted when it travels from a material
with a refractive index of n
1
into a material with a
refractive index of n
2
(n
2
=n
1
). Refraction is described by
the following equation:
1 2
2 1
sin
sin
c n
c n
o
|
= =
, where o and | are the angles of
incidence and refraction, respectively, c
1
and c
2
are the
speeds of light in the two materials.

66. What is the shortest resolvable distance in a light
microscope?
approximately 200 nm

67. How can the resolving power of a microscope be
increased?
-by decreasing the wavelength of light
-by increasing the index of refraction of the material
between the objective and the object
-by increasing the half angle of the objective

68. What is numerical aperture?
It is the product of the index of refraction of the material
between the object and the objective (n), and the sine
of the half angle of the objective (sino): n sino.

69. Give the formula for the resolving power of a
conventional light microscope!
1 2 sin n
f
d
o

= =

where: n = refractive index of the medium between the
coverslip and the objective, o= half angle of the
objective, = wavelength of light, d = the minimum
distance between two points at which they are
resolvable.

70. What is the function of the dichroic mirror in a
fluorescence microscope?
It reflects the excitation light, and is transparent for the
emitted photons, therefore it separates the excitation and
emission light paths.

71. What is the function of the excitation filter in a
fluorescence microscope?
It is transparent only in the wavelength range in which
the fluorescent dye can be excited, therefore it allows
only those photons to reach the sample which can
excite the fluorescent molecule.

72. What is the function of the emission filter in a
fluorescence microscope?
It is transparent only in the wavelength range in which
the fluorescent dye emits photons, therefore only the
photons emitted by the fluorescent dye will reach the
detector.

73. List the imaging aberrations in optical systems!
-chromatic aberration
-spherical aberration
-astigmatism
-coma
-curvature of the field of the image
-barrel-shaped and cushion-shaped distortion of the
image

74. Give the equation for the relationship between the
image distance (i), object distance (o) and the focal
distance (f)!
1 1 1
i o f
+ =


75. Give the definition and SI unit of diopter!
D (diopter)=1/f, is the refractive power of the lens,
where f is the focal length of a given lens.
SI unit: 1/m.

76. What were those two discoveries that made
construction of an electron microscope possible?
-an electron can be regarded as a wave, and its
wavelength is only a fraction of the wavelength of
visible light
-an electron beam can be focused with a magnetic field

77. List at least three signals that can be detected
during an electron microscopic measurement!
-back-scattered electrons
Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page5
-secondary electrons
-characteristic X-rays
-Auger electrons
-absorbed electrons
-cathode luminescence
-transmitted electrons

78. What are the two types of electron microscopes?
transmission electron microscope (TEM)
scanning electron microscope (SEM)

79. What is the principle of transmission electron
microscopy?
A thin, typically 100 nm thick, sample is illuminated with
an electron beam. The sample scatters a fraction of the
electrons, i.e. the sample usually does not absorb the
electrons. Using magnetic lenses an image is formed
from the electrons going across the sample. The image
is characteristic of the electron scattering properties of
the sample.

80. What is the principle of scanning electron
microscopy?
The sample is scanned by a thin electron beam.
Secondary electrons induced by the electron beam are
detected on a pixel-by-pixel basis.
5 Nuclear physics, radioactivity

81. Give the definition of isotopes!
Isotopes are the variants of a chemical element with a
given atomic number whose mass numbers are
different.

82. List the isotopes of hydrogen with their mass
number and the constituents of their nuclei!

Mass
number
Composition
Hydrogen 1 1 proton
Deuterium 2 1 proton+1 neutron
Tritium 3 1 proton+2 neutron

83. What is the mass defect of nuclei?
The mass defect equals the difference between the
mass of a nucleus and the total mass of its constituents
(Z: the number of protons and A-Z: the number of
neutrons, where Z and A are the atomic number and
the mass number of the nucleus, respectively):
Am = (Z m
proton
+ [A-Z] m
neutron
) - m
atom

where Am is the mass defect, m
proton
, m
neutron
and m
atom

are the masses of a free, unbound proton, a free,
unbound neutron and the given atomic nucleus,
respectively.

84. What is the relationship between the total binding
energy (AE) and the mass defect (Am) of a given
nucleus?
AE=Amc
2
, according to Einstein's mass-energy
equivalence principle (c is the speed of light in
vacuum).

85. Describe how the binding energy per nucleon
changes as a function of mass number.
Binding energy per nucleon has a maximum at nuclei
with mass numbers 55-60 (i.e. Fe).

86. What are the properties of nuclear force (their
range, strength and direction)?
Nuclear forces have limited range, their effect is
negligible at a distance of more than a single nucleon
and they are independent of charge. They are very
powerful attractive forces whose magnitude exceeds
that of electrostatic forces.

87. On what kind of energy level does a nucleon reside
in a nucleus compared to the energy of a free
particle?
A bound nucleon has negative potential energy
compared to a free particle.

88. List the types of radioactive radiation and
characterize the particles constituting them!
Alpha radiation consists of helium nuclei. Negative beta
radiation (|
-
) is composed of electrons, whereas
positive beta radiation (|
+
) consists of positrons.
Gamma radiation is an electromagnetic radiation
consisting of high energy photons.

89. What is the direction of changes in the atomic
number and the mass number of nuclei during
alpha, both types of | and gamma decay?

change in mass
number
change in atomic
number
o decay 4 2
| decay 0
1 (in |
+
decay and
electron capture),
+1 (in |
-
decay)
decay 0 0

90. Why is the spectrum of beta decay continuous?
Besides an electron (or a positron) an antineutrino (or a
neutrino) is also emitted, and the energy released
during the decay is shared randomly between the two
particles.

91. What is electron capture and what does it produce?
Some nuclei are capable of capturing an electron
residing on the K shell decreasing their atomic number
by one. The vacancy generated this way on the K shell
is filled by an electron from a higher shell. This
transition generates characteristic X-ray and/or an
Auger electron.

92. Give the equation describing the number of
undecayed nuclei as a function of time (i.e. the law
of radioactive decay) .
0
t
N N e

=
N
0
: number of radioactive nuclei at t=0,
N: number of undecayed radioactive nuclei at the time
of investigation,
: decay constant,
t: time.

93. What is the physical meaning of the radioactive
decay constant?
Radioactive decay constant is equal to the inverse first
power of the mean lifetime of a radioactive nucleus.

94. What is the relationship between the radioactive
decay constant () and the half life (T)?
ln 2
T

=
ln 2: the natural logarithm of 2.

95. Define biological half life.
Biological half life is the time period during which half of
the initial quantity of the radioactive isotope leaves the
living system undecayed due to metabolism, secretion
or excretion.

96. Define effective half life.
Effective half life gives the time during which the initial
activity of a given type of radioactive nucleus decreases
to half of its original value either by physical decay or
metabolism.
or alternatively
Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page6
Effective half life gives the time period during which the
number of the udecayed nuclei decreases to half of the
original value either by physical decay or biological
processes.
One of the definitions is enough to asnwer the question.

97. Describe the relationship between the effective
(T
eff
), the physical (T
phys
) and the biological (T
biol
)
half lives!
1 1 1
eff phys biol
T T T
= +

98. Describe the relationship between the physical
(
phys
), the biological (
biol
) and the effective (
eff
)
decay constants!

eff
=
phys
+
biol

6 Interaction of radiation with
material, detection of radiation


99. Write the formula describing the attenuation of
gamma or X-ray radiation in an absorbing material.
0
x
J J e

=

where J
0
denotes the incident intensity and J is the
transmitted intensity after passing through an absorber
of thickness x. is the absorption/attenuation
coefficient.

100. What is the definition of the attenuation coefficient
of a material for gamma or X-ray and what is its SI
unit?
The attenuation coefficient is the reciprocal of the
distance at which the intensity of the radiation
decreases to 1/e-times (~37%) of the initial value.
[]=1/m.

101. How does the intensity of o-radiation change as a
function of the distance from the radiation source?
It is constant in the beginning then suddenly decreases
to zero.

102. What is responsible for the energy loss of an alpha
particle along its path?
Ionization.

103. What kind of radioactive radiations can be detected
by a GM-counter?
o-, |- and -particles can be detected.

104. What is the basic principle of operation of a
photomultiplier tube?
Electrons liberated from a light sensitive cathode by
photons are accelerated in an electric field and collide
into other electrodes (dynodes) whose potentials are
increased in succession along the length of the tube.
The energy of this collision is sufficient to free several
secondary electrons. In this way the number of
electrons increases at each dynode.

105. What is the basic operation principle of ionization
detectors?
Electrons and positive ions produced by the ionization
process are separated by the electric field of the
detector. The charged particles are attracted towards
the appropriate electrodes and generate electric
impulses.

106. What is the principle of detection of radioactive
radiation by a scintillation detector?
In certain organic and inorganic substances the energy
of radioactive particles is converted to luminous energy,
i.e. they generate visible light flashes.

107. List the radioactive radiations in order of increasing
penetrability!
o<|<
7 Radiation biophysics, dosimetry,
biological effect of radiations

108. What is the biological effect of radioactive radiation
based on?
Excitation and ionization of atoms and/or molecules of
living systems.

109. What kind of particles are able to produce a
biological effect in radiation biology?
Particles giving their energy partially or totally to the
biological object are able to produce a biological effect.

110. What is a hit in radiation biology?
If one or more ionizations are produced in the
radiosensitive volume of a biological object.

111. How can a dose-response curve be constructed?
The applied radiation dose is plotted on the horizontal
axis and the ratio of the surviving organisms (N) and
the total number of organisms before irradiation (N
0
) is
plotted on the vertical axis.

112. What is the probability of generating exactly n hits
when applying a dose of D in volume V?

( )
!
n
VD
n
VD
P e
n

=

113. How does the number of ionizations depend on the
dose of the radiation?
The number of ionizations is linearly proportional to the
dose.

114. Write the equation describing the dose-response
curve when one hit is necessary for inactivation?

0
VD
N
e
N

=

where N is the number of surviving organisms, N
o
is the
total number of organisms, D is the dose and V is the
radiosensitive volume.

115. What is D
37
?
D
37
denotes the dose at which 37 % of the irradiated
objects survive. If one ionization causes inactivation,
D
37
corresponds to one hit in a radiosensitive volume
(VD=1, that is D=1/V).

116. What is the principle of the indirect action of
radiation?
In aqueous solutions a particle of an ionizing radiation
most probably causes ionization of the solvent (water)
because water molecules outnumber solute molecules.
Radicals generated by the above process are
responsible for damaging solute molecules. This way
the target gets bigger.

117. What kind of products are capable of damaging
biological objects arise during irradiation of
aqueous solutions?
hydrated e

, H-, OH-, H
2
O
2

Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page7
118. What is the definition of absorbed dose?
Absorbed dose, D
a
, is defined for any ionizing radiation
as the ratio of radiation energy converted into ionization
energy and the mass taking up the ionization energy.
Unit: Gray (Gy), 1 Gy= 1J/kg

119. What is the definition and unit of KERMA (kinetic
energy released in material)?
KERMA is the sum of the initial kinetic energy of all
particles generated by the ionizing radiation in an
absorbing material divided by the mass of the
absorbing material. Unit: Gray (Gy), 1 Gy= 1J/kg

120. What is the definition and unit of exposure in the
case of X-ray and -radiation?
Exposure is defined as the ratio of the sum of positive
(or negative) charges produced by ionization in a
volume element and the mass of this element if every
charged particle loses its kinetic energy in air. Its unit:
Coulomb/kg.

121. Define the unit of equivalent dose!
Its unit is 1 Sievert (Sv). 1 Sv is the dose of any ionizing
radiation which produces the same effect on human
beings as 1 Gy absorbed dose of conventional X-ray.
Conventional X-ray consists of 250 keV photons.

122. List the physical factors influencing radiation
sensitivity!
The quality of radiation (it influences radiation
sensitivity through ionization density and penetrability),
time factor, temperature, effect of oxygen, substances
protecting from radiation.

123. What is the smallest dose which can produce a
biological effect?
Theoretically even a single quantum is enough to
produce a point mutation, since any photon that is able
to produce ionization is capable of breaking a chemical
bond.

124. How can radioactive radiation cause a double
strand break in DNA?
A double strand break of DNA can be caused by a
single ionization event or as a result of simultaneous
single strand breaks on the opposite strands of DNA
helix which are produced by ionizations originating from
separate events.

125. Write the equation describing cell survival
according to the linear-quadratic model.
( )
2
0
( )
D D N
S D e
N
o | +
= =

Where S(D) is the survival fraction as a function of dose
D, and and are tissue and radiation dependent
constants. Parameters o and | are proportional to the
probability of "one-step" and two-step DNA double
strand breaks, respectively.

126. In which part of the cell cycle are cells the most and
the least sensitive to radioactive radiation?
Generally, the majority of cells are considered to be the
most radiosensitive during mitosis and most resistant in
late S phase.

127. How does radiosensitivity changes as a function of
the level of oxygenation?
The well-oxygenated cells have greater radiosensitivity
than hypoxic cells, because in the presence of oxygen
there is higher chance to produce radicals.


128. How and why does fractionation of radioactive
radiation influence the radiosensitivity of cells?
Fractionation decreases the radiosensitivity of cells,
because radiation-induced damage can be partly
repaired between exposures to the radiation.
8 Experimental and diagnostic use
of isotopes, accelerators, gamma
camera CT, PET, SPECT

129. List the most important types of applications of
radioactive isotopes in medical diagnosis!
in vitro laboratory tests
determination of the volume of body compartments
two- or three-dimensional imaging of the distribution
of radioactive isotopes in the body

130. What is the operation principle of a -camera?
A substance labeled with a radioactive isotope is
injected into the body (radiopharmacon). The emitted
photon passes through a collimator and collides into a
scintillation detector. The distribution of the radiation
source can be mapped by the counts of photomultiplier
tubes connected to the detector.

131. What is the principle of SPECT?
Images are taken from different directions by a -
camera. The three-dimensional distribution of the
radiation source is calculated from these images.

132. What kind of isotopes can be used in PET?
Only nuclei with positive |-decay can be used

133. What is the principle of determination of the
location of a radioactive isotope in PET?
A positron is generated in a positive beta decay. It
collides with an electron in a distance shorter than 1
mm from its generation and the two particles are
annihillated. Two gamma photons generated in the
annihillation reaction leave the place of annihillation in
opposite directions. A circular array of detectors
senses these gamma photons. If two detectors
opposing each other signal at the same time
(coincidence), annihillation took place along the line
connecting the two detectors. The intersection of many
such lines gives the exact location of the radioactive
source.

134. What is the principle of computer tomography?
X-ray images are taken of the human body from
different directions. The X-ray absorption capacity of
volume units (voxels) of the body can be calculated
from these images.

135. In which respect does a CT image provide more
information than a conventional X-ray image?
A conventional X-ray image contains only the two
dimensional projection of the distribution of the X-ray
absorbing material, while a CT image also reveals the
third dimension (depth) of the object.
9 Basic principles and applications
of nuclear magnetic resonance
(NMR). Electrospin resonance.

136. Which nuclei are able to give an NMR signal?
Whose resultant nuclear spin is different from zero; i.e.
those nuclei which contain odd number of protons
and/or odd number of neutrons.

Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page8
137. List at least three nuclei which can be used in
biological applications of nuclear magnetic
resonance!
1
H,
2
H,
13
C,
14
N,
19
F,
31
P

138. What happens to the elementary magnetic
moments in an external magnetic field?
The interaction of magnetic moments with the external
magnetic field causes their alignment as well as their
precession about the magnetic field.

139. What are the possible states of the magnetic
moment of a
1
H nucleus in an external magnetic
field?
The nuclear spin of
1
H is , therefore its magnetic
moment has two possible alignments with respect to
the magnetic field: it can be aligned either with (parallel
alignment lower energy level or ground state) or
against (antiparallel alignment higher energy level or
excited state) the magnetic field.

140. What is the condition for resonance absorption in
NMR?

2 1 N N N
E E hf g B B = = =

E
2
- E
1
: the energy difference between the excited and
ground states of the nuclear spin
B: magnetic field
h: Planck's constant
f: frequency of the applied electromagnetic radiation
g
N
: nuclear g-factor;
N
: gyromagnetic ratio

N
: nuclear magneton

141. Define the gyromagnetic ratio of a nucleus!
It is the ratio of the magnetic moment (M
N
) to the
intrinsic angular momentum (spin; L
N
) of the given
nucleus:

N N
N N N
g
M L

= =

g
N
is the nuclear g-factor,
N
is the nuclear magneton
and
2
h
t
= (h is the Planck constant).

142. What region of the electromagnetic spectrum can
be used to excite nuclear and electron spins placed
in a magnetic field?
Radiowaves ( ~10
8
Hz): NMR
Microwaves ( ~10
10
Hz): ESR

143. What is the Bohr magneton?
It is a physical constant and the natural unit for
expressing the magnetic moment of an electron.
2
B
e
e
m
=


e: elementary charge, m
e
: mass of the electron
= h/(2t) (h is Planck's constant).

144. What is the nuclear magneton?
It is a physical constant and the natural unit for
expressing magnetic dipole moments of heavy particles
(e.g. nucleons, atomic nuclei).
2
N
p
e
m
=

,
e: elementary charge, m
p
: mass of the proton
= h/(2t) (h is Planck's constant).

145. Why are the resonance frequencies applied in ESR
much higher than those used in NMR in a given
magnetic field?
The energy difference between the ground and excited
states is linearly proportional to the Bohr (ESR) or the
nuclear magneton (NMR). Since the rest mass of a
proton is about 2000 times greater than that of an
electron, the Bohr magneton and, as a consequence,
the energy difference between the two states will be
much higher in ESR.

146. What factors influence the resonance frequency in
NMR?
Quality of the absorbing nucleus, its chemical
environment and the strength of the external magnetic
field.

147. How can the relative concentration of absorbing
nuclei be determined from an NMR spectrum?
From the area under the absorption lines corresponding
to different nuclei.

148. What is chemical shift in NMR?
The local magnetic field experienced by a given
nucleus is altered by the chemical environment
resulting in a change in its original resonance
frequency.

149. What is the equilibrium occupancy of the two states
of
1
H nuclei in a magnetic field?
The occupancies of the two states are determined by
the Boltzmann distribution. The lower energy level
(parallel alignment) contains slightly more nuclei than
the higher level (antiparallel alignment).

150. What is the macroscopic consequence of the
alignment of nuclear magnetic moments by the
external magnetic field?
A macroscopic magnetization (equilibrium or
longitudinal magnetization) is formed in the direction of
the external magnetic field.

151. What provides the signal in pulse NMR techniques?
The precession of transverse magnetization (i.e. the xy
component of the net magnetization vector at right
angles to the main magnetic field) generated by a short,
intense radiofrequency pulse. Precession takes place
at the resonance frequency of the nucleus in the given
magnetic field.

152. What is spin-spin and spin-lattice relaxation?
Spinspin relaxation is the mechanism responsible for
the decay of transverse magnetization generated by the
radiofrequency pulse. Spinlattice relaxation is
responsible for the recovery of the original longitudinal
magnetization vector.

153. What kind of parameters does an MRI image
reveal?
About the density of
1
H nuclei in a volume unit (voxel)
and about their spin-spin and spin-lattice relaxation
rates.

154. How is the signal localized in MRI?
In addition to the basic static magnetic field (B
0
) linear
magnetic field gradients are applied in different
directions. Since the resonance frequency is linearly
proportional to the magnetic field experienced by the
nucleus, location of the signal can be encoded on the
basis of the frequency.

155. What is in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy
(in vivo MRS)?
It is a non-invasive, analytical technique that can be
used to study metabolic processes in the volume of
interest of a living organism on the basis of
characteristic NMR spectra of the respective
metabolites.


Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page9
10 Thermodynamics

156. What is an isolated system in thermodynamics?
A system is isolated if it doesn't exchange either energy
or material with its environment.

157. What is a closed system in thermodynamics?
A system is closed when it can exchange energy, but
no material with its environment.

158. What is an adiabatic transition?
The transition where no exchange of heat occurs, is
called adiabatic.

159. Define heat and give its unit!
Heat is energy transferred from one body to another
due to difference in their temperatures. The unit of heat
is the same as that of energy, i.e. joule.

160. The number of particles residing on energy levels
with energies E
1
and E
2
is N
1
and N
2
, respectively.
Give the Boltzmann distribution describing the
relationship between N
1
and N
2
!
2 1
2 1
E E
kT
N N e

= , where k is Boltzmanns
constant, T is the absolute temperature.

161. What kind of quantities are called extensive?
A physical parameter, which depends on the size of the
system, is called extensive. Such a parameter is
additive, i.e. its values are added for different parts of a
system.

162. What kind of quantities are called intensive?
Physical parameters whose value does not depend on
the size of the system are called intensive quantities.
Intensive quantities are not additive, they tend towards
spatial equilibrium.

163. Define what internal energy is!
The total energy related to the structure and internal
properties of an object arising from the random motion
of and forces acting between atoms and molecules of
the system is called internal energy.

164. Write the equation relating the internal energy of
monoatomic ideal gas to temperature!
internal
3
2
E NkT =
, where E
internal
is the internal energy, N
is the number of atoms, k is Boltzmanns constant and
T is the absolute temperature.


165. What is the entropy of a chemically pure, solid
crystal at absolute zero temperature?
S = 0

166. Is chemical potential an extensive or an intensive
quantity?
It is an intensive quantity.

167. Two bodies are in thermodynamic equilibrium
(T
1
=T
2
). Can exchange of energy occur between
them?
Yes, but the average amount of energy transmitted by
the bodies to each other is equal.

168. Is a living organism an isolated, closed or open
thermodynamic system?
Open.

169. Is the second law of thermodynamics valid for a
living system, and how can it be applied?
Yes, but it can be applied only if the living system and
the surrounding environment together are treated as an
isolated system.

170. When is a mixture in thermodynamic equilibrium?
If the chemical potential of all of its components is the
same at each point of the system.

171. What is the definition of chemical potential?
Chemical potential of a substance is the Gibbs free
energy of one mole of the given substance, i.e. the
chemical potential of a substance gives by how much
the Gibbs free energy of a thermodynamic system
increases when one mole of the given substance is
added to the system (at constant temperature and
pressure).

172. What is the classical thermodynamic definition of
entropy?
rev
Q
S
T
A =
AS: entropy change, Q
rev
: heat taken up reversibily, T:
absolute temperature

173. Define the relationship between entropy and
thermodynamic probability!
ln S k = O
S: entropy, k: Boltzmann constant, : thermodynamic
probability

174. Define thermodynamic probability!
Thermodynamic probability of a macrostate is the
number of microstates associated with the macrostate.

175. What is the range of values of thermodynamic
probability ()?
1s O< .

176. What is the range of values of mathematical
probability (P)?
0 P 1 s s .

177. Which state functions determine the direction of a
chemical reaction in an isobaric-isothermal
(p=constant, T=constant)? Give the definition of the
function!
Gibbs free energy, G=H-TS
where H is the enthalpy, T is the absolute temperature
and S is the entropy of the system.
11 Diffusion

178. Define the frictional force (F

f
) acting on a molecule
with velocity v in an aqueous environment
F
f
=-fv, where f is the form factor.

179. What is the relationship between the absolute
temperature (T) and the average kinetic energy of a
molecule (E
kin
) in a system containing monatomic
gas in thermal equilibrium?
3
2
kin
E kT =
where k is the Boltzmann constant.

180. What is diffusion?
Net flow of material propelled by Brownian motion due
to a gradient of the chemical potential.

Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page10
181. What is the physical meaning of the diffusion
constant?
The diffusion constant (D) is the amount of material
transported through unit surface area in unit time at a
unit concentration gradient. It characterizes the mobility
of molecules.

182. What is the unit of diffusion constant?
[D] = m
2
/s

183. Give the average squared displacement of a
particle with diffusion constant D!
2
2 x Dt A =
where t is time, and
2
x A is the average squared
displacement.

184. Write Fick's first law and interpret the constants
and physical quantities!
v
c
I DA
x
A
=
A

I
v
is the quantity of material transported through the
surface A per unit time by a concentration gradient
c/x, D is the diffusion constant

185. How does the diffusion constant (D) depend on
temperature (T) and the radius (r) of a spherical
molecule?
r
T
D ~


186. Write down the equation describing the relationship
between the diffusion constant (D) and the form
factor (f)!
kT
D
f
=
where k is the Boltzmann constant and T is the
absolute temperature.

187. Which parameters tend toward spatial equilibrium
during a diffusion process?
The chemical potentials of the components.

188. Writedownvan'tHoff'slaw!
H = p
osmosis
= cRT, where H = p
osmosis
- osmotic
pressure, R is the universal gas constant, T is absolute
temperature, c is the molar concentration of the
material in solution.

189. What is osmosis?
Flow of the solvent to a concentrated solution from the
more dilute one, if the two compartments are separated
by a semipermeable membrane. This material flow
decreases the concentration gradient between the two
solutions.

190. What is the osmotic pressure?
It is the pressure, which is able to prevent the solvent
flow from the pure solvent to the solution through the
semipermeable membrane

191. Write the continuity equation for fluid flow!
1 1 2 2
Av A v =
where A
1
and A
2
are the cross sectional areas of the
tube, v
1
and v
2
are the average velocity of the fluid at
cross sections A
1
and A
2
, respectively.

192. Describe in words the meaning of the continuity
equation!
In the case of incompressible fluids the volumetric flow
rate is uniform along the entire tube.

193. Describe in words the law of Bernoulli!
The sum of the statical, dynamic and gravitational
(hydrostatic) pressures is constant
12 Biological membranes and
membrane transport

194. What is the permeability constant?
The permeability constant is the amount of material
transported through the membrane per unit surface in
unit time due to unit concentration difference.

195. Give the equation describing the flux of material
transported across a membrane due to
concentration difference between two
compartments separated by the membrane!
m
J p c = A

J
m
is the flux of the material, which is the amount of
material transported through a unit membrane area in a
unit time Unit: mol/(m
2
s)
p membrane permeability constant, (m/s)
Ac concentration difference between the
concentrations on the two sides of the membrane

196. What does it mean that lipids are amphipathic
molecules?
They consist of hydrophobic and hydrophyilic parts.

197. What are the possible forms of motion of a lipid
molecule in a membrane?
-lateral diffusion
-rotational diffusion
-transmembrane flip-flop
-flexible motion of fatty acid side chains.

198. What are the possible phase states of biological
membranes?
-gel phase
-liquid crystal/ fluid phase

199. What changes in the properties of the fatty acid
side chains increase the transition temperature of a
membrane?
-increase in the saturation of fatty acid carbon-carbon
bonds
-increase in the length of the fatty acid side chains

200. How does cholesterol change the fluidity of lipid
membranes?
Below the phase transition temperature it usually
increases, above the phase transition temperature it
decreases.

201. What is the magnitude of the lateral diffusion
constant of lipids and proteins in biological
membranes?
lipids: 10
-8
-10
-9
cm
2
/s
proteins: 10
-9
-10
-12
cm
2
/s.

202. Which methods can be used to measure the lateral
diffusion of proteins in biological membranes?
- Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP)
- Single Particle Tracking (SPT)
- Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS)

203. For what kind of molecules is the permeability of
biological membranes the highest?
For small, uncharged, apolar molecules, e.g. O
2
, N
2
.

204. How can membrane proteins be classified based on
their function?
- transport and channel proteins
- receptor and signal transducing proteins
Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page11
- enzymes
- structural membrane proteins.


205. What are the extra- and intracellular concentrations
of Na
+
, K
+
and Ca
2+
ions?
extracell. intracell
Na
+
140 mM 10-20 mM
K
+
5 mM 140-150 mM
Ca
2+
1-2 mM 10
-4
mM

206. What is passive transport?
Transport processes driven by the electrochemical
potential gradient which do not need active metabolism
are called passive transport.

207. What is active transport?
Transport processes that results in material flow
against the electrochemical potential gradient at the
expense of energy utilization are called active transport.

208. What is primary active transport?
The transporter pumps ions/molecules across the
membrane against their electrochemical gradient using
energy from ATP hydrolysis.

209. What is secondary active transport?
Secondary active transport moves ions/molecules
across the membrane against their gradient using
energy stored in the gradient of another ion, created by
a primary active transport mechanism.

210. What is simple diffusion across biological
membranes?
The passive transport of small and lipid-soluble
molecules across the membrane.

211. What is facilitated diffusion?
The passive transport of membrane impermeant
ions/molecules across the membrane aided by
transport proteins (ion channels or carriers) molecules.

212. What are the properties of facilitated or carrier-
mediated diffusion?
-transporter proteins specifically bind the transported
molecules
-the transport can be selectively inhibited
-the flux of transport can be saturated over a given
concentration of the transported material.

213. What kind of ion channels do you know based on
their mode of activation?
-ligand gated ion channels
-voltage gated ion channels
-second messenger gated ion channels
-mechanical deformation (stretch) activated ion
channels.

214. What is the function of ionophores?
They promote the selective transport of ions through
lipid membranes.

215. How can ionophores be grouped according to the
mechanism of ion transport?
- carrier ionophores
- channel forming ionophores

216. List the factors contributing to the maintenance of
quiescent membrane potential!
- diffusion potential
- Donnan potential
- active transport by ion pumps.

217. Write the Nernst equation!
| |
| |
0,
ln
i
x x
x
o
x
RT
U E
z F x
= =
where U
0,x
(or E
x
) is the equilibrium potential of the
given ion,
R is the universal gas constant
T is the absolute temperature
z
x
is the charge of the given ion
F is the Faraday constant
[x]
e
and [x]
i
are the extra- and intracellular
concentrations of the given ion, respectively.

218. What is the equilibrium potential of an ion?
The membrane potential where the net flux of the given
ion is zero, i.e. the system is in thermodynamic
equilibrium for the given ion.

219. Are the ions on the two sides of the membrane of a
living cell in thermodynamic equilibrium? Why?
No. There is no thermodynamic equilibrium because
the net passi ve flux of a given ion is not zero at the
resting membrane potential.

220. Describe the relationship between net fluxes of
major permeating ions at the resting membrane
potential!
J
Na
+J
K
+J
Cl
=0, where J
x
is the flux of ion x.

221. Give the definition and unit of flux!
Flux (J) is the amount of transported items across unit
cross section area per unit time. Unit: mol/(m
2
s)

222. Give the Goldmann-Hodgkin-Katz equation!

...
ln
...
Na K Cl
i i o
m m
Na K Cl
o o i
p Na p K p Cl
RT
U E
Fz p Na p K p Cl
+ +
+ +
( ( ( + + +

= =
( ( ( + + +



U
m
(E
m
) is the resting membrane potential (diffusion
potential);
R is the universal gas constant;
T is the absolute temperature;
F is the Faraday constant;
[x]
0
and [x]
i
are the extra- and intracellular
concentrations of ion x, respectively;
p
x
is the permeability of the cell membrane for ion x.

223. Give the definition and unit of conductivity!
G (conductivity)=1/R (where R is the resistance)
Unit: 1/O =siemens (S).

224. Give the current carried by ion x through the cell
membrane if the membrane potential is E
m
!
( )
x x n x m x
I G E G E E = =

where I
x
is the current;
G
x
is the conductivity of the membrane for ion x
(G=1/R);
E
x
is the equilibrium potential of ion x.

225. Define the action potential and interpret the ionic
basis of its generation.
The action potential is a characteristic, time-dependent
change in the membrane potential as a result of time-
and membrane potential-dependent changes in the ion
permeabilities of the membrane. In the depolarization
phase the Na
+
permeability is dominant, the
subsequent repolarization is the result of a concurrent
decrease in Na
+
permeability and an increase in K
+

permeability.

226. What is the principle of voltage-clamp?
The membrane potential is held at a controlled value
independently of ion currents through the membrane.
Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page12

227. List the methods that can be used for measuring
the membrane potential of living cells!
-optical methods with membrane potential sensitive
dyes;
-electrophysiological methods (microelectrode, current-
clamp)

228. What kind of currents can be measured by patch-
clamp?
-single channel currents (eg. cell-attached
configuration)
-ion currents flowing through the entire membrane of
the cell (whole-cell configuration).

229. What are the most important features of ion
channels?
-selective permeability: the channel is permeable only
to a certain ion species;
-gating: appropriate trigger/signal/event causes a
conformational change in the channel protein resulting
in the transition among different states (closed, open,
inactivated) of the channels

230. What is the range of the voltages corresponding to
the R waves of an ECG?
millivolts

231. Give the Einthoven-Waller rule and interpret the
variables in the formula!
R
1
+ R
3
= R
2
, where R
1
, R
2
s R
3
are the projections of
the integral vector on the sides of the Einthoven
triangle.

232. What is the meaning of an ECG curve in the case of
unipolar and bipolar leads?
Unipolar: It is the potential difference between an
exploring and a reference electrode.
Bipolar: It is the potential difference between two
exploring electrodes.
13 Biophysics of the Sensory System

233. Which physical characteristics of the eye lens are
changed during accommodation?
The shape (radius of curvature) and the refractive index
of the lens. In the case of humans the former is the
dominant.

234. What is the resolution of an eye?
The smallest visual angle at which the images of two
points can be distinguished.

235. What is the physical and biological limit of the
resolution of an eye?
Physical: The separation between the two points to be
distinguished should not be less than the wavelength of
the illuminating light.
Biological: Images of the two points to be distinguished
have to be on different photoreceptors, and there has to
be an unstimulated receptor between them.

236. What does it mean that photons are only triggers
for photoreceptors?
The energy of photons is used by the receptors for
inducing chemical (signal transducing) processes.

237. Which receptor cells of the retina are responsible
for color vision and vision under dim conditions!
color vision: cones; vision under dim conditions: rods.

238. What is the principle of Young-Helmholtz theory?
The physiological basis of color vision is the existence
of three different color sensitive receptors (the cones)
with different photopigments which are able to make a
distinction between red, green and blue colors.

239. What is ERG?
Electroretinogram: it records the potential changes of
the retina as a whole during stimulation with light.

240. What is the threshold intensity of hearing? Specify
its value!
Threshold intensity of hearing is the minimal intensity of
the 1000 Hz sinusoidal sound audible by a normal
human ear. Its value is about 10
-12
Watt/m
2
.

241. How does the intensity of sensation (loudness)
changes as a function of the intensity of the
stimulus?
Sensation is proportional to the logarithm of the relative
intensity of the stimulus.

242. What is the advantage of the phon scale compared
to the bel (decibel) scale?
When using the phon scale the intensities of both the
reference and actual sound intensities are converted to
the intensities of the corresponding 1000 Hz sound, i.e.
the reference is the threshold intensity of the 1000 Hz
sound (10
-12
Watt/m
2
), the actual intensity is the
intensity of the 1000 Hz sound inducing the same
sensation of loudness as the sound under investigation.
Therefore, the threshold of hearing is 0 phon for every
frequency.

243. Give the Weber-Fechner law!


lg

actual stimulus intensity
sensation const
reference stimulus intensity
=

244. A sound with intensity J and frequency of 2000 Hz
is produced by a sound generator. What is the
loudness according to the phon scale?

1000
0
10 lg
phon
J
H
J
= (phon)
where H
phon
is the loudness in phons;
J
1000
is the intensity of the sound with a frequency of
1000 Hz causing the same sensation of loudness as
the sound with a frequency of 2000 Hz with intensity J;
J
0
is the threshold intensity of hearing for the 1000 Hz
sound (10
-12
Watt/m
2
).

245. What kind of relationship is represented by the
isophonic curves?
The sound intensities producing the same sensation of
loudness are plotted against the sound frequency.

246. Give the threshold values of hearing according to
the phon scale for sounds whose frequencies are
1000 Hz and 2000 Hz, respectively!
0 phon, the threshold of hearing is the same (0 phon)
for any frequency.

247. What is the basis of the sone scale?
Sensation can be more precisely described by the
power of the relative stimulus intensity with a fractional
exponent.

0.3
0
1
16
sone
J
H
J
| |
=
|
\ .

where H
sone
is the loudness in sone, and J and J
0
are
the stimulus intensity in question and the reference
stimulus intensity, respectively.

248. What is the mechanism of hearing by air
conduction (also called ossicular conduction)?
Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page13
The vibration reaches the inner ear through the auditory
meatuses and the system of the tympanic membrane
and auditory ossicles.

249. What is the mechanism of hearing by bone
conduction?
The vibration reaches the inner ear directly through the
cranial bones.

250. What are the physical principles giving rise to an
increased pressure on the foot plate of the stapes
compared to the pressure of the original sound?
1. the cross-sectional area of the ear drum is much
larger than that of the stapes foot plate;
2. lever-like functioning of auditory ossicles.
14 Sound, Ultrasound

251. Give the frequency range of sound waves audible
by a normal human ear!
20 Hz - 20000 Hz.

252. What is ultrasound?
Sounds whose frequency is between 20000 Hz and
10
10
Hz.

253. What is infrasound?
Sound with a frequency less than 20 Hz.

254. Give the definition and unit of sound intensity!
The energy carried by the sound wave perpendicularly
through unit cross-sectional area per unit time. Its unit
is Watt/m
2
.

255. What does the velocity of sound depend on?
The velocity of sound depends on the properties of the
medium (density and compressibility).

256. What does acoustic impedance depend on?
Acoustic impedance (Z) is linearly proportional to the
density of the medium () and the velocity of the
ultrasound (c). Z=c.

257. List the most widespread effects suitable for the
generation of ultrasound!
- inverse piezoelectric effect
- electrostriction effect
- magnetostriction effect

258. Describe the relationship between the amplitude of
the ultrasound-induced pressure fluctuation (P
max
)
and the intensity of ultrasound (J)!

P
max
= 2Z[

where Z is acoustic impedance.

259. What is cavitation?
Attractive forces between fluid particles may be
overcome by the alternating pressure changes induced
by ultrasound and microscopic cavities containing no
fluid particles may be generated.

260. How does the intensity of ultrasound change while
it passes through a certain medium?

[ = [
0
c
-x


where J
0
is the intensity of the ultrasound entering the
medium, is the absorption coefficient and x is the
thickness of the medium.

261. What is the basis of imaging with ultrasound?
A part of a ultrasound beam is reflected at the
interfaces of different tissues with different acoustic
impedance, so the boundaries of different tissues can
be mapped using the intensity and the delay of the
echo compared to the impulse leaving the transducer.
15 Information and entropy,
communication systems, feedback

262. What is the advantage of a redundant code system

compared to a nonredundant one?
It decreases distortion of the coded information during
transmission via the channel.

263. What is the basic unit of information?
Bit (binary unit or basic unit).

264. Give the definition of bit!
The information content corresponding to choosing one
of two, equally possible outcomes of an experiment is 1
bit.

265. How can the accuracy of the information
transmission be guaranteed in a noisy
environment?
Increasing the redundancy.

266. What is the task of the coder in an information
chain?
Converting the information generated by the source into
appropriate form for transmission, processing and
storage.

267. Where does most of the noise affect information in
a communication system?
In the channel, between the transmitter and the
receiver.

268. What is feed-back?
A part of effect produced by the system conducted back
to the controller to check the desired effect.

269. Which numerical system do the nucleotide triplets
belong to and why?
To quaternary numerical system because there are four
types of bases in DNA.

270. How many digits does a word have to contain to be
able to code the primary structure (amino acid
sequence) of proteins in DNA?
Three.

271. Write down the equation describing redundancy
and interpret the variables!

max
max
H H
R
H

=
R: redundancy, H
max
is the theoretically attainable
maximal information content of a coded message
based on the given set of signs, H is the actual
information content.

272. Can redundancy be 0% or 100%?
0 % - yes; 100 % - no.

273. Write the Shannon-equation describing the
information content of an experiment!

1
log
k
i i
i
U p p
=
=


Minimumrequirementquestions,2013/2014,page14
where U is the uncertainty of the experiment and p
i
is
the probability of a given outcome.

274. What is relationship between the uncertainty and
the number of possible outcomes of an event?
Logarithmic.

275. What is an algorithm?
The collection of rules directing the operation of an
automat.

276. Define the set of characters for a coding system!
The complete set of coding elements in a coding
system (e.g. letters in the English alphabet), or it is the
collection of all possible outcomes of an experiment
(e.g. for DNA triplets it is the collection of 4
3
=64
possible base orders).

277. Define the information content of a message or an
experiment in which any character or outcome is
equally possible!
It is logarithm with base two of number of all possible
outcomes of the experiment; or another way: the
number of yes or no questions by which the outcome of
the experiment can be figured out.

16 Modern microscopies, flow

cytometry, sedimentation,
electrophoresis (Medicine
students only)

278. What is the operating principle of a confocal laser
scanning microscope?
A pinhole with a small diameter blocks the way of light
beams originating from out of focal planes. This way
the image of the object will be sharp. The whole
process is extended to the whole plane by scanning.

279. Which microscope based on visible light could
surpass the theoretical limit of resolution dictated
by the Abbe equation?
Near-field microscopy.

280. What is the principle of atomic force microscopy?
A silicium tip hovers ~5 nm above the surface because
it cannot get any closer due to electrical repulsion and
the weak spring constant of the suspension. In this way
the tip is able to scan the surface of the object and
detect the height differences at each point.

281. What is the resolution limit of atomic force
microscopy?
Angstrm (0.1 nm)

282. What are the advantages of flow cytometry and cell
sorting compared to spectrofluorimetric
measurements?
1 - more information can be obtained separately about
individual cells at the same time
2 - numerous cells can be studied within a short time
3 - homogeneity or heterogeneity of a cell population
can be revealed
4 - cells can be separated on the basis of their size and
other characteristics that can be labeled fluorescently

283. List forces and their directions acting on a
molecule sedimenting in a centrifuge tube!
Centrifugal force pointing away from the axis of rotation
whereas both frictional force and buoyant force
pointing towards the axis of rotation.

284. Define the sedimentation constant and give its unit!
The sedimentation constant is the sedimentation
velocity of a molecule gained by unit acceleration, that
is the sedimentation velocity divided by the centripetal
acceleration. Unit: 1 Svedberg (S)=10
-13
sec

285. How can the density of an unknown macromolecule
be determined by sedimentation experiments?
Macromolecules centrifuged in a density gradient (e.g.
cesium chloride) stop sedimenting in the layer whose
density is identical to their own.

286. How does the sedimentation equilibrium depend on
the form factor in the case of sedimentation
equilibrium method and why?
It is independent because after reaching the equilibrium
molecules stop moving.

287. What is electrophoretic mobility?
Electrophoretic mobility is the velocity generated by unit
electric field strength.

288. List the factors influencing the electrophoretic
mobility of a macromolecule!
- molecular mass
- net charge,
- pH of the medium
- form factor.

289. What is the principle of isoelectric focusing?
In pH gradient during electrophoresis each compound
migrates towards the location, where pH is equal to that
of its isoelectric point and net charge of particle
becomes zero stopping of further migration.