Question

A scientist conducts a test and finds out that the LD50 of a certain chemical is 20 mg per kilogram. Explain what this means.

Answer 1

LD means lethal dose. LD50 is the amount of a material, administered at once to cause the death of half (50%) of a group of test organisms.  A test which shows that LD50 of a certain chemical is 20 mg per kg means that 20 milligrams of that chemical for every 1 kilogram body weight of the test animal when administered in one dose, causes the death of 50% of the test group.

Answer 2

This means that 20mg/per kg (each kilogram of target animal) of the substance is enough dosage to kill 50% of the target sample population. LD50 means Lethal Dose 50. This term is critical in research in biology, medicine, and agriculture. Mostly the substances used are lethal such as radiation, toxins, or pathogen.