Question

A patient is prescribed 6 mg of cough medication. The label on the prescription says there are 2 mg per 4 mL. How many teaspoons of cough medication does the patient need to take?
Prescription 6mg
_________ x mL = ?
Stock 2mg

6mg
___________ x 4 mL = 12mL
2mg

1 tsp = 5 mL
12 / 5 =
Answer: ?

Answer 1

To determine how many teaspoons of cough medication the patient needs to take, you can follow these steps:

1. Calculate the volume in mL that corresponds to the prescribed dosage of 6 mg.

Using the information given:
- The stock concentration is 2 mg per 4 mL.

First, find out how many mL correspond to 6 mg:
\[
\frac{6 \text{ mg}}{2 \text{ mg}} = 3
\]
This means you need 3 times the volume of the original solution.

Now calculate the volume:
\[
3 \times 4 \text{ mL} = 12 \text{ mL}
\]

2. Next, convert the volume from mL to teaspoons. We know that:
1 teaspoon (tsp) = 5 mL.

To convert 12 mL to teaspoons, divide by 5:
\[
\frac{12 \text{ mL}}{5 \text{ mL/tsp}} = 2.4 \text{ tsp}
\]

Therefore, the final answer is:
**The patient needs to take 2.4 teaspoons of cough medication.**