Question

The physician orders 12.5 mg/1 kg. The patient's weight is 100 kg. How much medication should you give? Show all work using dimensional analysis

Answer 1

To calculate the amount of medication to give using dimensional analysis, we will set up a conversion factor:

12.5 mg : 1 kg

To convert from kilograms (kg) to mg, we know that 1 kg is equal to 1000 g, and 1 g is equal to 1000 mg:

1 kg : 1000 g : 1000 mg

Therefore, our conversion factor will be:

12.5 mg : 1 kg : 1000 g : 1000 mg

Now we can set up our dimensional analysis equation:

(12.5 mg / 1 kg) * (100 kg / 1) * (1 kg / 1000 g) * (1 g / 1000 mg)

Starting with the given weight of the patient:

(12.5 mg / 1 kg) * (100 kg / 1) * (1 kg / 1000 g) * (1 g / 1000 mg) = 12.5 * 100 * 1 * 1 / 1 * 1000 * 1000

Calculating this equation gives:

= 0.125 mg

Therefore, you should give 0.125 mg of medication to the patient.