You are recording counts from a Geiger counter to measure small amounts of ionizing radiation from some samples. Whilst performing the measurement of the last sample, you get hungry and fetch and eat your lunch banana. After you finish and pack everything away, your colleague sees your banana skin. Firstly they are shocked and appalled that you would eat in a radioactive lab, this is very dangerous! But worse, bananas are mildly radioactive and its presence could have contaminated your final sample. What should you do?

Question

You are recording counts from a  Geiger counter  to measure small amounts of ionizing radiation from some samples. Whilst performing the measurement of the last sample, you get hungry and fetch and eat your lunch banana. After you finish and pack everything away, your colleague sees your banana skin. Firstly they are shocked and appalled that you would eat in a radioactive lab, this is very dangerous! But worse, bananas are mildly radioactive and its presence could have contaminated your final sample. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Leave the last sample's count value as it was recorded, but put a note next to it explaining why it may be anomalously large.

Answer

Thoroughly cross out the record of the counts for the last sample so that the misleading value cannot be read.

Answer

Divide the last sample's count value by 2.

Answer

Leave the last sample's count value as it was recorded.

Crowdly

You are recording counts from a Geiger counter to measure small amounts of ion...

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