Question

A doctor asks a nurse to give a patient 200 milligrams (mg) of the drug simethicone. The drug is available only in a solution with a concentration of 50 mg simethicone per 0.5 milliliter (ml) of solution. How many milliliters of solution should the nurse give the patient?

a. 2.0 ml
b. 4.0 ml
c. 6.0 ml
d. 8.0 ml

Answer 1

To administer a dose of 200 mg simethicone from a solution with a concentration of 50 mg per 0.5 ml, the nurse needs to provide 2.0 ml of the solution. So the correct answer is Option A.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question requires the calculation of the volume of drug solution needed to administer a specific dose of simethicone. Given that the concentration of the drug solution is 50 mg per 0.5 ml, and the prescribed dosage is 200 mg, we can establish a proportion to determine the necessary volume. To provide 200 mg of simethicone, the nurse would need four times the amount of the given 0.5 ml dose, as 200 mg is four times greater than 50 mg.

Therefore, the calculation is as follows:

• 50 mg is to 0.5 ml as 200 mg is to X ml
• (50 mg / 0.5 ml) = (200 mg / X ml)
• X = (200 mg * 0.5 ml) / 50 mg
• X = (200 / 50) * 0.5 ml
• X = 4 * 0.5 ml
• X = 2.0 ml

So, the nurse should administer 2.0 ml of the solution to provide the patient with 200 mg of simethicone.