Which of the following will result in increased radiographic density?

Increased radiographic density refers to a greater degree of blackening on the radiograph, which occurs when more x-ray photons reach the image receptor. The choice that leads to increased density is an increase in mAs, which stands for milliampere-seconds. This parameter represents the product of the current (in milliamperes) and the exposure time (in seconds), effectively controlling the total amount of x-ray exposure the film or digital receptor receives.

When mAs is increased, more x-rays are generated and subsequently more x-rays expose the receptor, resulting in a darker film because more photons are available to interact with the film or digital sensor. Consequently, a higher mAs equates to increased exposure and, thus, increased radiographic density.

In contrast, the other options either suggest conditions that would lead to decreased exposure or a situation where exposure is not adequately maximized to enhance density. For instance, decreased exposure time would reduce the overall number of x-ray photons produced, leading to lower density. Increased source-image receptor distance (SID) would also cause decreased density due to the inverse square law, whereby the intensity of x-rays diminishes as the distance increases. Lastly, combining an increased SID with decreased mAs would compound the issue