Radiation Safety Certification Exam Prep
Free practice questions

Free RSC Practice Questions

10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.

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The RSC exam has 200 questions and runs 3 hours 30 minutes.

These 10 free RSC questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Radiation Safety Certification blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.

Domain 1: Content Pertaining to a RAM License: (Expertise Area) 50% of exam

Question 1

An NRC-licensed facility is considering discharge of a patient who still retains 80 mCi of I-131 after thyroid-cancer treatment. An individualized assessment, accounting for the home arrangements and the patient's ability to follow precautions, projects a maximum total effective dose equivalent of 2.6 mSv to any other person. There is no clinical reason for continued admission. Which discharge plan meets NRC requirements?

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Correct answer: B - Discharge with written, individualized instructions to keep doses to others ALARA.

Question 2

An investigation of I-123 assay discrepancies finds accurate readings in the usual glass vials but readings 12% high in a newly introduced plastic syringe. The error is unchanged across the routine activity range; radionuclide settings, decay corrections, and check-source constancy are satisfactory. The most likely explanation is:

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Correct answer: A - Container-dependent changes in detector response.

Question 3

At 08:00, a generator eluate contains 10 microcuries of Mo-99 and 100 millicuries of Tc-99m. A dose from this eluate is scheduled for administration at 14:00. Use physical half-lives of 66 hours for Mo-99 and 6 hours for Tc-99m. Which assessment of the Mo-99/Tc-99m ratio applies at administration under NRC requirements?

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Correct answer: A - About 0.19 microcuries/millicurie; administration is not permitted.

Question 4

For a required leak test of a sealed Cs-137 source at an NRC-licensed medical facility, the wipe sample produces 6,600 counts in 2 minutes. Background is 300 counts per minute. Calibration establishes a counting efficiency of 0.20 count per disintegration for this radionuclide and sample geometry. Which result and immediate source disposition are correct?

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Correct answer: B - 250 Bq; withdraw the source from use.

Question 5

A therapeutic radiopharmaceutical is given to the wrong patient at an NRC-licensed facility. The administered activity matches the order intended for the other patient. Dosimetry estimates 0.72 Sv to the kidneys and 0.03 Sv effective dose equivalent. The recipient remains asymptomatic. How does the NRC telephone-notification requirement apply?

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Correct answer: A - Notify the NRC by the next calendar day; the organ dose exceeds the wrong-patient reporting threshold.

Domain 2: Content Pertaining to CT: (Expertise Area) 15% of exam

Question 6

A pediatric abdominal CT dose report lists CTDIvol as 8.0 mGy, referenced to a 32-cm phantom. For this child's measured size, the applicable conversion factors are 1.8 for a 32-cm reporting basis and 0.9 for a 16-cm reporting basis. What size-specific dose estimate should be recorded?

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Correct answer: D - 14.4 mGy, multiplying by the 32-cm factor.

Domain 3: Content Pertaining to X-ray & Fluoroscopy (Competence but not expertise) 15% of exam

Question 7

A complex embolization finishes with 18 minutes of fluoroscopy and cumulative reference-point air kerma of 6.2 Gy. Numerous angiographic acquisition runs were also performed. The patient has no visible skin changes. The service follows AAPM fluoroscopy dose-management guidance. What belongs in the postprocedure plan?

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Correct answer: C - Provide written skin-reaction instructions and arrange high-dose follow-up.

Question 8

On an under-table fluoroscopy system, the patient is close to the X-ray tube and there is a large gap between the patient and image receptor. Automatic brightness control maintains an acceptable image. With the beam projection and clinical task unchanged, which paired adjustment optimizes both distances for lower entrance skin dose?

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Correct answer: D - Increase source-to-skin distance and decrease the patient-to-receptor gap.

Domain 4: Content Pertaining to MRI Safety: (Competence, but not expertise) 10% of exam

Question 9

The verified labeling for a patient's implant permits head MRI on the proposed scanner only with a local transmit/receive head coil. The available head coil is receive-only, with RF transmitted by the body coil. Every other implant condition can be met. How should the team resolve this mismatch?

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Correct answer: C - Use a local transmit/receive head coil that meets the implant labeling.

Domain 5: Optimizing Radiation Exposure / Other Topics 10% of exam

Question 10

A patient at 14 weeks of pregnancy is evaluated after a high-speed collision. Following initial stabilization, the trauma team determines that contrast-enhanced abdominal and pelvic CT is needed urgently to guide treatment. Ultrasound has not answered the clinical question, and MRI would delay definitive care. Which recommendation appropriately balances maternal benefit and fetal radiation risk?

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Correct answer: D - Proceed with the clinically necessary CT, using an optimized trauma protocol.

That's 10 of 1,030

The full bank has 1,020 more RSC questions with explanations.

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