Exercising causes an athlete’s body to lose potassium, and it is important to replenish this nutrient after a race.

Question

For middle-school students, the recommended amount of potassium intake is 4.5 grams per day. If a student athlete eats a banana containing 0.54 grams of potassium, and drinks 6 ounces of orange juice containing 0.372 grams of potassium, how many more grams of potassium does she need?

How can you find how many more grams of potassium the athlete needs to reach the recommended amount?

To solve this problem, I would

Answer 1

To determine how many more grams of potassium the athlete needs to reach the recommended daily intake of 4.5 grams, you can follow these steps:

1. Add the potassium amounts from the banana and orange juice: First, you need to find out how much potassium the athlete has already consumed from the banana and orange juice.

   • Potassium from the banana: 0.54 grams
   • Potassium from the orange juice: 0.372 grams

   Now, add these two amounts together: \[ \text{Total potassium consumed} = 0.54 + 0.372 \]

2. Calculate the total: \[ 0.54 + 0.372 = 0.912 \text{ grams} \]

3. Determine how much more potassium is needed: Subtract the total potassium consumed (0.912 grams) from the recommended daily intake (4.5 grams): \[ \text{Additional potassium needed} = 4.5 - 0.912 \]

4. Calculate the additional amount needed: \[ 4.5 - 0.912 = 3.588 \text{ grams} \]

So, the athlete needs 3.588 grams of potassium more to reach the recommended amount for the day.

In summary, to find how many more grams of potassium the athlete needs, you add the potassium from the consumed foods and then subtract this total from the recommended intake.