gwere@brookhouse.ac.

ke
COMMON CIE QUESTIONS ON MEDICAL PHYSICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND OP-AMPS
1.Explain the principles behind the use of X-rays for imaging internal body structures.
X-ray beam directed through body onto detector (plate)
different tissues absorb/attenuate beam by different amounts
giving shadow image of structures
any other detail e.g. comment re sharpness or contrast

2.Describe how the image produced during CT scanning differs from that produced by X-ray imaging.
X-ray image is flat OR 2-dimensional
CT scan takes many images of a slice at different angles
these build up an image of a slice through the body
series of images of slices is made
so that 3D image can be built up
image can then be rotated

3.Suggest and explain two ways in which the reproduction of the original analogue signal could be improved.
increase number of bits in digital number at each sampling
so that step height is reduced
increase sampling frequency / reduce time between samples
so that depth / width of step is reduced

4.Whilst making a call using a mobile phone fitted into a car, a motorist moves through several different cells. Explain
how the reception of signals to and from the mobile phone is maintained.
computer at cellular exchange
monitors signal strength
switches call from one base station to another
to maintain maximum signal strength

5.What is meant by acoustic impedance.

product of density (of medium) and speed of sound (in medium)

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6.Explain why acoustic impedance is important when considering reflection of ultrasound at the boundary between two
media.
difference in acoustic impedance
determines fraction of incident intensity
that is reflected/amount of reflection

7.Explain the principles behind the use of ultrasound to obtain diagnostic information about structures within the body.
pulse of ultrasound (directed into body)
reflected at boundary (between tissues)
(reflected pulse is) detected and processed
time for return of echo gives (information on) depth
amount of reflection gives information on tissue structures

8.Suggest and explain why the country is divided into a number of cells.
carrier frequencies can be re-used (simultaneously without interference)
so that number of handsets possible is increased
lower power transmitters
so less interference)
UHF used
so must be line-of-sight/short handset aerial

9.Outline what happens at the base station and the cellular exchange when a mobile phone handset is switched on before a
call is made/ received.
handset sends out an (identifying) signal
communicated by base stations to (computer at) exchange
computer selects base station with strongest signal
and allocates a (carrier) frequency

10.Outline briefly the main principles of the use of MRI to obtain information about internal body structures.
large / strong (constant) magnetic field
nuclei rotate about direction of field / precess
radio frequency / r.f. pulse

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causes resonance in nuclei , nuclei absorb energy
(pulse) is at the Larmor frequency
on relaxation / nuclei de-excite emit (pulse of) r.f.
detected and processed
non-uniform field (superimposed)
allows for position of nuclei to be determined
and for location of detection to be changed

11.What is virtual earth?

gain of op-amp is very large / infinite
non-inverting input is at earth / 0 V
for amplifier not to saturate, P must be at about earth / 0 V

12.By reference to the principles of CT scanning, suggest why CT scanning could not be developed before powerful
computers were available.
X-ray image of slice taken from many different angles
these images are combined (and processed)
repeated for many different slices
to build up a 3-D image
3-D image can be rotated
computer required to store and process huge quantity of data

13.Explain the main principles behind the use of ultrasound to obtain diagnostic information about internal body
structures.
pulse of ultrasound
reflected at boundaries / boundary )
received / detected (at surface) by transducer
signal processed and displayed
time between transmission and receipt of pulse gives
(information about) depth of boundary

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reflected intensity gives information as to nature of boundary

14.Explain why as the crack becomes wider, the resistance of the strain gauge increases.
resistance of wire = L / A
as crack widens, L increases
and A decreases
so resistance increases
A strain gauge is made by sealing a length of very fine wire in a small rectangle of thin plastic.

14.Explain why a continuous spectrum of wavelengths is produced in the spectrum of X-ray radiation.
e.m. radiation / photons is produced whenever a charged particle
is accelerated
wavelength depens on magnitude of acceleration
electrons have a distribution of accelerations
so continuous spectrum

15.Explain why the spectrum had a sharp cut off at short wavelengths.
when electron loses all its energy in one collision
or when energy of electron produces a single photon

16.What is the linear absorption coefficient?

parallel beam (in matter)
I = I0 exp(-x)
I, I0, () and x explained

17.Why is it advantageous to filter out low energy photons from the X-ray beam?
low-energy photons absorbed (much) more readily
or low-energy photons (far) less penetrating
low-energy photons do not contribute to X-ray image
low energy photons could cause tissue damage

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18.Briefly explain the principles of CT Scanning.
X-ray taken of slice / plane / section
repeated at different angles
images / data is processed
combined / added to give (2-D) image of slice
repeated for successive slices
to build up a 3-D image
image can be viewed from different angles / rotated

19.What is negative feedback?

fraction of the output (signal) is added to the input (signal)
out of phase by 180 / rad / to inverting input

20.Explain the main principles behind the generation and detection of ultrasound to obtain diagnostic information about
internal body structures.
1)either quartz or piezo-electric crystal
opposite faces /two sides coated (with silver) to act as electrodes
either molecular structure indicated
or centres of (+) and () charge not coincident
potential difference across crystal causes crystal to change shape
alternating voltage (in US frequency range) applied across crystal
causes crystal to oscillate / vibrate
(crystal cut) so that it vibrates at resonant frequency

2)quartz/piezo-electric crystal
p.d. across crystal causes either centres of (+) and () charge to move
or crystal to change shape
alternating p.d. (in ultrasound frequency range) causes crystal to vibrate
crystal cut to produce resonance
when crystal made to vibrate by ultrasound wave
alternating p.d. produced across the crystal

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21.Explain the use of a gel on the surface of skin during ultrasound diagnosis
no gel, majority of ultrasound will undergo reflection
with gel, little reflection
when wave travels in or out of the body

22.Outline the principles of the use of a geostationary satellite for communication on Earth
(carrier wave) transmitted from Earth to satellite
satellite receives greatly attenuated signal
signal amplified and transmitted back to Earth
at a different (carrier) frequency
different frequencies prevent swamping of uplink signal
e.g. of frequencies used (6/4 GHz, 14/11 GHz, 30/20 GHz)

23.Advantages of a Polar satellite

much shorter time delay
because orbits are much lower
e.g. whole Earth may be covered
in several orbits / with network
24.Disadvantages of a Polar satellite
must be tracked
or limited use in any one orbit
more satellites required for continuous operation

25.By reference to the formation of the image in each case, suggest why the exposure to radiation differs between CT
scans and X rays.
X-ray image involves a single exposure
CT scan: exposure of a slice from many different angles
repeated for different slices
CT scan involves a (much) greater exposure

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26.Suggest why on an X ray plate, the contrast between bone and muscle is much greater than that between fat and
muscle
attenuation (coefficients) in muscle and in fat are similar
attenuation (coefficients) in bone and muscle / fat are different
contrast depends on difference in attenuation

27.Suggest the function of a DAC

analogue signal is sampled at (regular time) intervals
sampled signal is converted into a binary number

28.State the function of a comparator

to compare two potentials / voltages
output depends upon which is greater

29.Describe the effect on the transmission of ultrasound through a boundary where there is a large difference between
acoustic impedance of the two media.
would be nearly equal to 1
either reflected intensity would be nearly equal to incident intensity
or coefficient for transmitted intensity = (1 )
transmitted intensity would be small

30.The use of ionoshperic reflection or radio waves has been replaced by satellite communication. Why?
e.g. unreliable communication
because ion layers vary in height / density
e.g. cannot carry all information required
bandwidth too narrow
e.g. coverage limited
reception poor in hilly areas
31.Why should uplink and downlink frequencies must be different?
signal must be amplified (greatly) before transmission back to Earth
uplink signal would be swamped by downlink signal

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32.State and explain the purpose of relays.
relay can be used to switch a large current/voltage
output current of op-amp is a few mA/very small
or relay can be used as a remote switch
for inhospitable region/avoids using long heavy cables

33.Suggest why communication between a mobile phone handset and the base station is conducted using UHF.
short aerial so easy to handle
short range so less interference between base stations
larger waveband so more carrier frequencies
34.Explain why neighboring cells use different carrier frequencies.
no interference (between signals) near boundaries (of cells)

35.Explain why each cell has a limited area, even in sparsely populated regions.
for large area, signal strength would have to be greater and this could be hazardous to health

36.Explain why the regenerator amplifiers do not amplify the noise that has been picked up on digital signals.
for digital, only the high and the low / 1 and 0 are necessary
variation between highs and lows caused by noise not required

37.State the function of the parallel to serial converter.

all bits for one number arrive at one time
bits are sent out one after another

38.Suggest why cross linking in coaxial cables is much less than in wire pairs.
outer of coaxial cable is earthed
outer shields the core from noise / external signals

39.Explain the importance of the difference between z1 and z2 for the transmission of ultrasound across the body.
Z1>Z2- mostly transmission if small
If large, mostly reflection
Refer to attenuation coefficient

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40.Suggest and explain an advantage of the use of high frequency ultrasound compared with lower frequency ultrasound.
Increase frequency- smaller structures/details can be distinguished.

Compiled by George Were

Head of Physics
Brookhouse School, Nairobi.
gwere@brookhouse.ac.ke
geowere@yahoo.com