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?

Question

Prescription 6mg
_________ x mL = ? ___________ x 4 mL = 12mL
Stock 2mg

1 tsp = 5 mL
12 / 5 = 2.4 tsp Answer: 2.4tsp

Answer 1

To determine how many teaspoons of cough medication the patient needs to take based on the prescribed dosage, let's break down the calculations step-by-step:

1. Determine the required volume in mL for the prescribed dose: The prescription states that the patient needs 6 mg of cough medication. The concentration of the medication is 2 mg per 4 mL.

   We can set up the proportion: \[ \frac{2 \text{ mg}}{4 \text{ mL}} = \frac{6 \text{ mg}}{x \text{ mL}} \] Cross-multiplying gives: \[ 2x = 6 \times 4 \] \[ 2x = 24 \] \[ x = \frac{24}{2} = 12 \text{ mL} \]

   Therefore, the patient needs to take 12 mL of the medication.

2. Convert mL to teaspoons: Now we convert 12 mL to teaspoons. We know that: \[ 1 \text{ tsp} = 5 \text{ mL} \] To find how many teaspoons are in 12 mL: \[ \frac{12 \text{ mL}}{5 \text{ mL/tsp}} = 2.4 \text{ tsp} \]

So, the final answer is that the patient needs to take 2.4 teaspoons of cough medication.