A certain medicine is given in an amount proportional to a patient’s body weight. Suppose that a patient weighing 100 pounds requires 125 milligrams of medicine. What is the weight of a patient who requires 200 milligrams of this medicine?
I am totally lost on how to work this problem. Someone please help!
Use a proportion, cross multiply, and solve for x.
100/125 = x/200
To solve this problem, we can set up a proportionate equation based on the given information:
weight1 / dose1 = weight2 / dose2
Let's assign the variables as follows:
weight1 = 100 pounds
dose1 = 125 milligrams
dose2 = 200 milligrams
Now we can plug in the values and solve for weight2:
weight1 / dose1 = weight2 / dose2
100 / 125 = weight2 / 200
To solve for weight2, we can cross multiply and then divide:
(100 * 200) / 125 = weight2
= 160 pounds
Therefore, a patient who requires 200 milligrams of medicine would weigh 160 pounds.