Question

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

subtract 4.5 - 0.54
add 0.54 + 0.372 and subtract the sum from 4.5
subtract 4.5 - 0.372 then add 0.54 to the difference
add 0.54 + 0.372 + 4.5

Answer 1

To find out how many more grams of potassium the athlete needs to reach the recommended amount of 4.5 grams, you should first calculate the total potassium she has consumed from both the banana and the orange juice and then subtract that total from the recommended intake.

Here's how to solve the problem step-by-step:

1. **Add the potassium from the banana and orange juice:**
- Potassium from banana: 0.54 grams
- Potassium from orange juice: 0.372 grams
- Total potassium consumed = 0.54 + 0.372

2. **Subtract the total potassium consumed from the recommended intake:**
- Recommended intake: 4.5 grams
- Remaining potassium needed = 4.5 - (0.54 + 0.372)

So, the correct approach is:

**Add 0.54 and 0.372, then subtract the sum from 4.5.**

Now let's calculate it:

1. Total potassium consumed = 0.54 + 0.372 = 0.912 grams
2. Remaining potassium needed = 4.5 - 0.912 = 3.588 grams

Therefore, the athlete needs **3.588 grams more** of potassium to reach the recommended amount.