Exam questions in biophysics (practicum) (1st Faculty of the UK, UK)

Below you will find frequent and popular questions that are asked during the continuous examination of biophysics practicals.

Electricity

 * draw and describe the I/t curve
 * draw and describe the I/t curve of rectangular and slanted impulses, say which part of the curve we are interested in and which of the two impulses is used and why
 * what if rheobase, how long does it last (catch - however long)
 * what is chronaxia
 * explain DD and IF currents and what they are used for
 * what is impedance and how is it expressed by the formula

EKG

 * draw and describe the curve
 * be able to describe it even after turning 180°
 * electrical line of the heart - what is it, draw, units, physiological range, where will the vector go in obese people
 * the difference between the electrode and the lead
 * know the types of leads, which color belongs where on the body
 * drawing a unipolar lead, e.g. on the right hand (place a 5kΩ resistor in advance!)
 * Einthoven's triangle

Acoustic

 * decibel - what is it, how is it calculated
 * what units do we use to determine the range of audibility (dB and Hz) and their range
 * threshold of audibility of the human ear
 * how is it with the frequency, for example, of the bass - if it has to be lowered or raised in order to be heard

Spectrophotometry

 * range of visible light
 * colors at the ends of the spectrum
 * what is above and below the level of visible light (= know the spectrum)
 * formula for calculating photon energy and wavelenght

Ultrasound

 * mechanic undulation
 * causes micro massage
 * how the image is created

Optics

 * draw a hypermetropia
 * eye defects, on which blurred vision is based
 * Balmer and Lyman series
 * Photoelectric effect
 * Compton phenomenon
 * define near and a far point
 * what is astigmatism, how is it treated, what are the types, which is more common and which is more serious
 * what is myopia and how is it treated
 * beam path in an optical microscope

Heat, Temperature

 * the body's thermal comfort and what affects it
 * what is cat value and how is it calculated
 * when do we talk about subfebrile in a patient and when about febrile
 * thermodynamic temperature scale, conversion

Radiation

 * what is fractionation, when is it used (irradiation of tumors) and after what doses (2Gy)
 * units - Becquerel, Gray, Sievert - to which quantities belong (explain) and conversion to SI
 * the principle of gamma radiation absorption

Breathing & circulation

 * What is Korotkoff phenomena why, when and how it occurs, how blood flows in veins normally and what happens when measuring pressure (explain the flow of liquid in a tube)
 * What is the Reynolds number, how do we calculate it and derive it
 * Spirometry - what we find during which measurement, what are the results for obstruction and restriction
 * chart for spirometry - vital lung capacity etc.