RadSafety Prep
RadSafety Prep
Everything else in the RSO-MRF syllabus — dosimetry, protection, radiotherapy physics — sits on top of these four foundational topics. If these are solid, the rest of your preparation gets much easier.
Atomic structure, atomic number and mass number, isotopes and radioisotopes, radioactivity and specific activity. The general properties of alpha, beta, and gamma rays. The laws of radioactivity and successive transformations — half-life, decay constant, mean life. Natural radioactive series and radioactive equilibrium. Artificial radioactivity and the production of radioisotopes by neutron and charged-particle bombardment, plus nuclear cross sections.
How charged particles interact with matter — energy transfer mechanisms, scattering, excitation, ionisation, the range-energy relationship, Bragg curve, stopping power, and bremsstrahlung. How X-rays and gamma rays interact with matter through the photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, and pair production, along with exponential attenuation and shielding materials. How neutrons interact with matter — scattering, absorption, and neutron-induced nuclear reactions.
The production and properties of X-rays, characteristic and continuous spectra, and the basic requirements of medical diagnostic and therapeutic X-ray tubes. Safety devices in X-ray tubes, filtration and beam quality, and the technology behind modern X-ray tubes, mobile and dental units, and image intensifiers.
Particle flux and fluence, energy flux and fluence, linear energy transfer (LET), mass attenuation coefficients, and the W-value. Exposure, Kerma, absorbed dose, and activity — plus the derived quantities used in radiation protection: equivalent dose, effective dose, collective effective dose, Annual Limit of Intake (ALI), and Derived Air Concentration (DAC).
It's tempting to rush through the "basics" to get to dosimetry and radiotherapy physics — but a large share of objective-question errors trace back to shaky fundamentals here, especially around unit conversions, the distinction between exposure/Kerma/absorbed dose, and interaction mechanisms at different photon energies.
Our topic-wise mock tests cover each of these four foundational areas individually, so you can build a solid base before moving on to dosimetry, radiobiology, and radiotherapy physics.
See the mock test series →Content summarized from AERB's standard syllabus for RSO-MRF certification. RadSafety Prep is an independent exam-preparation resource and is not affiliated with AERB or BARC.