Dosage Calculations Practice (Rev.

1/17)
This practice sheet contains 35 math questions of various types that may be seen
throughout the nursing program.
(Remember that clinical math tests are usually timed (1 hour) and contain 10
questions.)

1) You want to determine when the intravenous infusion

should be complete, so the solution bag will not run dry.
Based on the information below, what time should the
infusion be completed?
Physician’s Orders
Today: Infuse NS @125 mL/ hr. until patient is taking
PO fluids
You hang the bag sent from pharmacy (see below) at 0800

____________ (military time)

2) Your patient has been prescribed Mucinex (guaifenesin)
300 mg via PEG daily for treatment of bronchitis. Available
are Mucinex 600mg extended-release tablets. How many
tablets do you give the patient? ______ tab(s)

3) A bolus of heparin at 80 units/ kg intravenously is ordered

for a patient that weighs 207 lbs. How many units of
heparin should you administer? ____________ units
4) Five year old Johnny has an order for liquid Tylenol
(acetaminophen) 128 mg for fever greater than 100°F.
His most recent temperature is 100.4°F. How much Tylenol
do you give? _______ mL(s)

160 mg

Per 5
mL

5) The order is for Digoxin 0.25 mg po daily.

Available from pharmacy 125 mcg tabs

How many tablet(s) should be taken per day? ______ tab(s)
6) Your patient upon discharge receives this bottle of
medication. The order is to take 2.5 mg po twice a day. How
many days can the patient expect this bottle to last?

Metho-
trexate
2.5 mg
Disp. 20
tabs

_________ days

7) Two medications may be mixed in one tablet. If the label

reads ‘amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium tablets 500
mg/ 125 mg’, how many mgs of amoxicillin would be in 2
tablets? _______ mgs
8) The doctor orders morphine gr 1/6 IM every 4 hours prn
for pain 8-10 on pain scale. The patient reports pain is 9.
a) The order is for how many mg? _____ mg(s)
b) How much solution should you pull from the vial
pictured below? ______ mL(s)
 Today

9) Use the legend on this

intake and output sheet
to calculate and then
record Ms. Doe’s 24
hour total.
I & O.

1L
Orange juice hung X1
–All, Coffee –
0800
all, Milk - ¾ 125
carton, Jell-O 1500-
mL/
– 2 tbsp., 8oz 125
hr.
ice chips ml left
in bag mL
Chicken Soup
– ½ bowl, Ice
cream - ¼ 50 mL
cup, Water – piggyback_
120 ml, Tea – new 1L
4 oz., primary
Cranberry bag hung
juice – all 1600 D/C
2200
mL

Milk – ½
carton D5W 0

mL

9)
10) Your patient is ordered to receive Heparin 3000 units
subcutaneous twice daily. The pharmacy sent a 2 mL vial

10,000 units
What amount would you administer at 0900? _______ mL(s)

11) The order reads: Synthroid 250 mcg po daily

0.4 mg/tablet
a) Give ___________ tab(s)
b) Would the amount given change if the tablets were
scored twice? _________
12) The patient is to receive 0.5 L of IV fluid over 6 hrs. If
the drop factor is 60 gtts/mL, determine the rate:
a) ___________ ml/hr. b) ___________ gtts/min

13) Cephalexin 400 mg in 100 mL of fluid is to run over 20

min. The drop factor is 15 gtts/mL. At what rate would the
nurse set the infusion pump? ____________
mL/hr.
 14) Penicillin G 450,000 units is to be administered at
1600. How much is given if the vial is labeled 1.5 million
units/2 mL? ____________ mL (s)

15) 50 mL D5W Infuse over 1/3 hr. Drop factor = 10 gtt/ml

Mefoxin 2 grams What is the rate: a) _________ ml/hr.

b) _________ gtts/min
16) Lidocaine 2 gm/500 mL D5W is ordered to run at 3
mg/min. At what rate should the IV pump be set?
____ ml/hr.

17) IV of 1 L D5 ¼ NS is ordered to run at 100 ml/ hr. The

previous bag was hung at 2000. When should the nurse
expect to hang a new bag? ________ (military time)
18) A diabetic patient has an IV of 250 mL with 50 units of
regular insulin infusing at 8 mL/hr. How many units per
hour is the patient receiving? __________ units/hr.

19) The sodium bicarb IV delivered by the pharmacy for

your patient reads: 300 mEq/ 500 mL. If the physician
orders 35 mEq/hr., how many mL/hr. should the patient
receive? ___________ mL / hr.
20) Medication D 250 mg in 250 mL NS is ordered for a
patient weighing 60 kg. The dose is to run at 10 mcg/ kg/
min. At what rate will the pump be set? ____ mL/hr

21) Order: SoluMedrol 40 mg IV

Available: SoluMedrol 125 mg/ 2 mL
Give: ____________ mL(s)
22) The pre-op sedative order is for Nembutal 150 mg. The
child weighs 26 kg. Maximum total dose found in the drug
book is 2 - 6 mg/kg/day. Is this dose within the safe range?
_______

23) A 2-year-old child is showing signs of shock. A 10

mL/kg bolus of normal saline solution is ordered. If the
child weighs 40 lbs., how many mL should be
administered? ____________ mL(s)
24) A child is given 0.5 mg/ kg/day of prednisone divided
into two doses. The child weighs 10 kg. How much is given
in each dose? ________ mg(s)

25) Before dental work, in order to prevent endocarditis,

Erythromycin (E-Mycin) is ordered for a 44 lb. six year old.
The order is for 20 mg/ kg by mouth 2 hours before the
procedure. If the bottle is labeled: 400 mg/ 5mL, how
many mL(s) should the child receive? ______ mL(s)
26) A child with diabetes is ordered to receive 25 mL/hr.
of IV solution. If using tubing with a pediatric micro drip
chamber, the rate should be set for how many drops per
minute?
________ gtts/min

27) A client’s labor is not progressing and after some

tests, the physician orders IV administration of 1,000 mL
NS solution with oxytocin (Pitocin) 10 units to run at 2
milliunits/ minute. How much is the client receiving:
a) ___________ ml/ min b) _____________ ml/ hr.
28) After being NPO for breakfast and lunch, the patient
receives a clear liquid diet for dinner. Calculate Mr. Smith’s
8 hour intake and output (for your shift: 1500-2300) using
the intake and output sheet below.
Broward Hospital
Daily Intake and Output Record
Date: Today Pt: Smith, John MR#: 123456
Fluid equivalents IN OUT
1 oz. = 30 mL
Oral IV Other Urine/Emesis/Stool/ Tube/Other
Coffee/tea = 240 mL
Juice = 120 mL
Milk = 240 mL
Popsicle (1 whole) = 75 mL
Soda = 360 mL
Soup = 180 mL
Styrofoam cup = 240 mL
Small plastic cup = 150 mL
Large plastic cup = 360 mL
Standard milkshake/shakeup =
240 mL
1500 - 1600 0
1600 - 1700 0
1700 – 1800 6 oz. broth
4 T jello
½ c tea
1800 -1900 IV started/ New bag of /220mL/ / /
1000 mL IV hung
1900 - 2000 125mL/ / / /
2000 - 2100
2100 -2200
2200 -2300 375 mL remaining 270mL/ / / /60mL
8 hour total:

(1L D5 0.45NS is infusing every 8 hours)

29) At 1230, the nurse collects the patient’s tray to calculate
the intake for lunch. The tray contained the following:
240
8
mL
oz.

6 oz.

90
mL

Calculate the intake for lunch if the patient ate 75% of each
item on tray. ______ mLs
30) These are the physician’s orders regarding IV fluids
and medications for your patient, Alice Jones:
Broward Hospital Physician Order Sheet

Date: Today Jones, A. MR# 86753

1) IV – Normal Saline at 125 mL/hr.
2) Metronidazole 500 mg IVPB in 100 mL D5W every 6 hours
3) Cefotaxime 1 g in 50 mL NS every 12 hr.
4) NPO

Broward Hospital Medication Administration Record

Date: Today Jones, A. MR# 86753
Metronidazole 500 mg IVPB 0800__ 2000__
in 100 mL D5W every 6 hours 1400__ 0200__
Cefotaxime 1 g in 50 mL NS
every 12 hr. 1000__ 2200__

Intake
Oral IV
0700 – 1900

Total 0 ml

1900 – 0700

Total 0 ml
24 hour total 0 ml
Record what the totals for each shift and 24 hour would be if
the new 1L primary IV bag was hung at 0700.
 LEVOFLOXACIN injection
in 5% Dextrose (750 mg in
150 mL 5% Dextrose)
INFUSE OVER 90 MINUTES

31)
Order is: Levofloxacin 750 mg IV daily. At what rate will
you set the infusion pump? __________ ml/hr.

32) The patient is to receive: morphine 4 mg IV push,

atropine 0.4 mg IV push on call to surgery. The nurse
determines (from the drug guide) that these medications
are compatible in the same syringe. Using the supply on
hand (see below), how much will the nurse draw up?

Morphine Atropine
5mg/ml 1 mg/ml

_____ total mLs

 INFUSE OVER 60
MINUTES

400 mg (2mg/ml)

400 mg in 200 mL 5% Dextrose

33)
Ciprofloxacin 400 mg IV every 12 hours is ordered. At what rate
will the nurse infuse the 0900 dose? ______ ml/hr.

34) Heparin I.V. Flush Syringe

50 USP Units/ 5 mL (10 USP Units/mL)
5 mL fill in 12 mL syringe LL, Rx only
Single Use, Discard Unused Portion
The heparin lock is to be flushed with 30 units every 12
hours. How much will the nurse use from the pictured
syringe? _________ ml
 35) Calculate the client’s total intake from 0700 - 1500
ORAL IV
0800 Breakfast D5W @ 100 mL/hr. (new bag
Milk – 6 oz. hung at 0700)
Orange juice – 2 oz. 0900 IVPB medication – 50 mL
1 serving scrambled eggs bag
1 slice toast
1000 AM snack
1 can Ensure oral nutritional
supplement – 240 mL
Total intake 0700 -1500 mL