What term describes a measure of a substance's ability to cause acute, delayed, or allergic effects?

• A. Toxicity
• B. Adjuvant
• C. Adsorption
• D. Carbohydrate

Answer: (A)

Toxicity is the measure of how harmful a chemical can be to living organisms. It covers the different ways a substance can cause harm, including acute effects that show up quickly after exposure, delayed or chronic effects that appear after time or with repeated exposure, and allergic effects that are immune‑mediated reactions. So toxicity best describes the overall potential for harm across these time frames and reaction types.

The other terms refer to different ideas: an adjuvant is something added to boost a product’s effectiveness, adsorption is how a chemical sticks to surfaces, and a carbohydrate is a type of nutrient. None of these describe the inherent harm a substance can cause across acute, delayed, or allergic responses.