Video Transcript
Which of the following statements
correctly describes how a person’s life can be threatened by damage to cells of
their body from absorbing nuclear radiation? (A) If enough cells are damaged or
killed in even one part of the body that is essential for life, a person can
die. (B) Cells must be damaged or killed
throughout the entire body for a person to die.
This question is asking us if
nuclear radiation damage to one part of the body can cause death or whether cells
must be damaged in all parts of the body for death to occur.
The human body is made of billions
of cells. Every part of the body, including
organs, are made of many cells. Energy is transferred to cells when
they absorb nuclear radiation. If enough energy is transferred to
a cell, it may die. When a cell dies, it can no longer
perform its function. If enough cells in one part of the
body die, the major organs or other important systems in that area can shut down as
they can no longer perform their function.
These are parts of the human body
that must function normally for a person to live. If one major organ does not perform
its function, the person may die. For example, a kidney is a major
organ. If nuclear radiation is absorbed by
cells only in the part of the body where the kidneys are, the cells in that area
will start to die. If enough cells in the kidney die,
the kidney will shut down. When this happens, the body can no
longer filter blood and process waste produced by the body. The failure of one organ, like the
kidney, can cause death.
Hence, it is not necessary for
nuclear radiation to damage all of a person’s body for that person to die from the
nuclear radiation damage. This means the correct answer is
option (A). If enough cells are damaged or
killed in even one part of the body that is essential for life, a person can
die.
