Questions: 9. Due to your severe pain, the doctor tells the nurse to give you 625 mg of pain medicine every 6 hours. You also hear the nurse say that the medication comes in tablets that are a quarter of a gram. How many tablets should she give you every 6 hours?
Transcript text: 9. Due to your severe pain, the doctor tells the nurse to give you 625 mg of pain medicine every 6 hours. You also hear the nurse say that the medication comes in tablets that are a quarter of a gram. How many tablets should she give you every 6 hours?
Solution
Solution Steps
Step 1: Convert the tablet weight to milligrams
The medication comes in tablets that are a quarter of a gram. Since \( 1 \) gram \( = 1000 \) milligrams, a quarter of a gram is:
\[
\frac{1}{4} \text{ gram} = \frac{1}{4} \times 1000 \text{ mg} = 250 \text{ mg}.
\]
Step 2: Determine the number of tablets needed
The doctor prescribed \( 625 \) mg of pain medicine every \( 6 \) hours. Each tablet contains \( 250 \) mg. To find the number of tablets required:
\[
\text{Number of tablets} = \frac{625 \text{ mg}}{250 \text{ mg/tablet}} = 2.5 \text{ tablets}.
\]
Step 3: Interpret the result
Since you cannot take half a tablet, the nurse should give you \( 2.5 \) tablets. However, in practice, this may require splitting a tablet or adjusting the dosage.