The energy of ionizing radiation is measured in which of the following?

Prepare for the NEHA Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Registered Sanitarian Exam. Study with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question includes hints and explanations. Excel in your exam!

Ionizing radiation includes a spectrum of radiation that has enough energy to remove tightly bound electrons from atoms, thus creating ions. The energy levels of ionizing radiation can vary widely depending on the source and type of radiation.

Electron volts (eV) is a common unit used in the field of physics, particularly in identifying the energy levels of particles. When discussing ionizing radiation, the energy can be measured in standard electron volts, ranging from just a few eV for low-energy radiation, such as certain types of beta or gamma radiation, to thousands (keV) and millions (MeV) of electron volts for high-energy sources, like X-rays and gamma rays from radioactive decay or nuclear reactions.

Given this range in possible energies, it is accurate to state that ionizing radiation can indeed be expressed in electron volts, thousands of electron volts, and even millions of electron volts. Therefore, it recognizes the full spectrum of energies that can be associated with different forms of ionizing radiation, justifying that all those measurements are valid for describing this type of energy.

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