| Course | NSG 124 Pharmacology |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 2 |
| Paper type | Dose calculation worksheet |
| Length | About 860 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | BSN |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NSG 124 Unit 2
Six Calculations With the Units Carried on Every Line: Tablets, a Weight-Based Suspension, Two Infusion Rates, a Microgram-per-Kilogram Drip, and a Reconstituted Powder
Student Name
Department of Nursing, Herzing University
NSG 124: Pharmacology
Instructor Name
January 22, 2026
Six Calculations With the Units Carried on Every Line: Tablets, a Weight-Based Suspension, Two Infusion Rates, a Microgram-per-Kilogram Drip, and a Reconstituted Powder
How Each Problem Is Worked
Every problem restates in words what was supplied and what is asked, then works line by line with units attached, then gives the answer in the unit asked for, rounded as the course specifies (tablets to the nearest half, oral liquids and pump rates to one decimal place, gravity drips to the nearest whole drop). A reasonableness check sits under each answer. Orders and products are classroom examples; the patient is a composite. Studies of nursing practice suggest calculation errors do occur in clinical settings, though they are harder to measure than in tests (Wright, 2010), which is why the reasonableness check is treated as part of the answer.
Problem 1: Tablets
Supplied: order for metoprolol tartrate 37.5 mg by mouth; available as 25 mg scored tablets. Asked: how many tablets.
37.5 mg ÷ 25 mg per tablet
= 37.5 mg × (1 tablet ÷ 25 mg)
= 1.5 tablets
Answer: 1.5 tablets (one whole tablet and one half, split on the score line).
Check: 37.5 is between 25 and 50, so the answer must be between one and two tablets. It is. The tablet is scored, so splitting is acceptable for this product; an unscored or extended-release product would not be split, and the pharmacy would be asked for another strength.
Problem 2: Weight-Based Oral Suspension
Supplied: a child weighing 22 lb; order for amoxicillin 90 mg/kg/day by mouth divided every 12 hours, the high-dose regimen used for acute otitis media (Lieberthal et al., 2013); available as 400 mg/5 mL suspension. Asked: mL per dose.
Weight: 22 lb × (1 kg ÷ 2.2 lb) = 10 kg
Daily dose: 90 mg/kg/day × 10 kg = 900 mg/day
Dose per administration: 900 mg/day ÷ 2 doses/day = 450 mg/dose
Volume: 450 mg × (5 mL ÷ 400 mg) = 5.625 mL
Answer: 5.6 mL per dose, every 12 hours.
Check: 400 mg is in 5 mL, and 450 mg is a little more than 400 mg, so the volume should be a little more than 5 mL. It is. The weight conversion was done first because the order is per kilogram; a dose calculated on 22 instead of 10 would be more than twice too large.
Problem 3: Infusion Pump Rate
Supplied: 1,000 mL of 0.9% sodium chloride over 8 hours on an infusion pump. Asked: mL/h.
1,000 mL ÷ 8 h = 125 mL/h
Answer: 125.0 mL/h.
Check: 125 mL/h × 8 h = 1,000 mL. The answer reproduces the ordered volume.
Problem 4: Gravity Drip Rate
Supplied: 100 mL of an antibiotic in a small bag to run over 30 minutes by gravity; administration set with a drop factor of 20 gtt/mL. Asked: gtt/min.
100 mL × (20 gtt ÷ 1 mL) = 2,000 gtt
2,000 gtt ÷ 30 min = 66.67 gtt/min
Answer: 67 gtt/min.
Check: a little over one drop per second (60 per minute). For a bag meant to run in half an hour, a rapid but countable rate is expected. Counting is done for a full minute or for 15 seconds multiplied by four, and the bag is rechecked after ten minutes.
Problem 5: Microgram-per-Kilogram-per-Minute Infusion
Supplied: a 70 kg adult; order for a vasoactive infusion at 5 mcg/kg/min; premixed bag of 400 mg in 250 mL. Asked: pump rate in mL/h.
Concentration: 400 mg ÷ 250 mL = 1.6 mg/mL
Convert to micrograms: 1.6 mg/mL × (1,000 mcg ÷ 1 mg) = 1,600 mcg/mL
Dose per minute: 5 mcg/kg/min × 70 kg = 350 mcg/min
Dose per hour: 350 mcg/min × 60 min/h = 21,000 mcg/h
Volume per hour: 21,000 mcg/h × (1 mL ÷ 1,600 mcg) = 13.125 mL/h
Answer: 13.1 mL/h.
Check: at 1,600 mcg in each mL, 13 mL holds about 21,000 mcg, and 21,000 ÷ 60 is 350 mcg per minute, which is 5 mcg/kg/min for 70 kg. Working back to the order confirms the answer. Because this is a high-alert infusion, the pump's drug library and an independent second check would be used in practice (Burchum & Rosenthal, 2022).
Problem 6: Reconstituted Powder
Supplied: a vial containing 1 g of an antibiotic powder; the label says that adding 9.6 mL of sterile water gives a concentration of 100 mg/mL. Order: 750 mg. Asked: mL to draw up after reconstitution.
Convert the order to the label's unit: 750 mg (already in mg; the vial's 1 g = 1,000 mg is noted for the check)
Volume: 750 mg × (1 mL ÷ 100 mg) = 7.5 mL
Answer: 7.5 mL.
Check: the whole vial is 1,000 mg in about 10 mL once reconstituted, and 750 mg is three quarters of it, so about three quarters of 10 mL is expected. It is. The diluent volume on the label, 9.6 mL, is not the final volume, because the powder itself takes up space; using the label's stated concentration avoids that error. The date, time, and concentration are written on the vial if any is left for a later dose, per policy.
References
Burchum, J. R., & Rosenthal, L. D. (2022). Lehne's pharmacology for nursing care (11th ed.). Elsevier.
Lieberthal, A. S., Carroll, A. E., Chonmaitree, T., Ganiats, T. G., Hoberman, A., Jackson, M. A., Joffe, M. D., Miller, D. T., Rosenfeld, R. M., Sevilla, X. D., Schwartz, R. H., Thomas, P. A., & Tunkel, D. E. (2013). The diagnosis and management of acute otitis media. Pediatrics, 131(3), e964-e999. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-3488
Wright, K. (2010). Do calculation errors by nurses cause medication errors in clinical practice? A literature review. Nurse Education Today, 30(1), 85-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2009.06.009
The Herzing NSG 124 Unit 2 instructions
Unit 2 asks you to solve dose calculation problems and show your work. Expect to restate each problem, set up the calculation with units, work it line by line, give the answer with units and check reasonableness. Many versions ask which method to use, dimensional analysis, ratio and proportion or formula, and how to round. Check whether your section requires a method. Carry units on every line so errors show. Convert weight before applying a per-kilogram dose. Round according to the measuring device, such as tenths of a milliliter for syringes. A reasonableness check catches decimal errors, such as a tablet count of 15 instead of 1.5. Avoid error-prone abbreviations.
Inside the NSG 124 Unit 2 example
The worksheet opens with the method used for every problem. Each problem restates what is supplied and what is asked in words, then sets up the calculation with units. The work proceeds line by line until units cancel to the answer. The weight-based problem converts pounds to kilograms first and calculates a daily and a per-dose amount. The infusion problems show pump rates in milliliters per hour and gravity rates in drops per minute. The microgram problem shows the conversion chain. The reconstitution problem uses the label's final concentration. Each answer ends with a one-line check of whether it makes sense. The consistent format makes errors easy to find and the method easy to follow.
Where the points sit in the NSG 124 Unit 2 rubric
Herzing's rubric for a dose calculation worksheet typically covers setup, units carried through, accuracy, rounding, reasonableness checks and use of safe abbreviations. Accuracy and units are read line by line, since one dropped unit can turn a correct setup into a wrong dose. Setup points reward restating what is supplied and asked. Rounding criteria look for rules matched to the device. Reasonableness checks often earn credit because they show safety thinking. Safe abbreviation use, such as writing units in full, is expected. Partial credit may go to correct setup with an arithmetic slip. Clear layout helps. The ISMP list of error-prone abbreviations is the standard reference here.
NSG 124 Unit 2 help: mistakes that cost points
Dose worksheets in Unit 2 commonly lose points by dropping units partway through, which hides the step where an error enters. Another frequent problem is applying a per-kilogram dose to pounds, which more than doubles it. Students often round too early, which compounds error across later lines. Reasonableness checks are skipped. Trailing zeros, such as 5.0 mg, appear and create a tenfold risk. Drop factors are forgotten in gravity problems. Microgram and milligram conversions are reversed. Reconstitution uses the powder amount rather than the final concentration on the label. Daily doses are confused with per-dose amounts. Pump rates are given with decimals the pump cannot accept. Finally, check every answer for sense, because graders reward a worksheet that catches its own errors before they could reach a patient.
Get a NSG 124 Unit 2 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 2 instructions and the rubric from your NSG 124 classroom, along with the problems the assignment supplies. We write a custom example that restates each question in words, carries units down every line, isolates the conversions and puts a reference check under each answer. First custom sample free, returned in 24 to 48 hours.
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NSG 124 Unit 2 questions, answered
Can you just give me the answers?
No, and a worksheet of bare answers would not help you anyway, since this unit awards most of its credit for the working. What an example shows is the layout a full solution uses: the restatement, the units traveling down the page, the isolated conversion, the rounding rule and the check underneath. You then run your own problems through the same shape.
Which reference should the check use?
The one your classroom supplies, named in the worksheet. Ranges and reference figures differ between texts, between institutions and between patient populations, so a remembered number is not defensible and can be wrong for the setting you are working from. Where your course text and your clinical site materials disagree, record both and say which one the check followed.
Does the worksheet need prose around the problems?
A little, and no more than the marks reward. One or two lines restating each question, and one line under each answer for the check, is usually enough. Long explanatory paragraphs between problems tend to crowd out the working itself, and readers of this unit are looking down the page at the arithmetic rather than across at the commentary.
Where can I find a free NSG 124 Unit 2 sample paper?
Read the complete NSG 124 Unit 2 dose calculation worksheet here at no charge, six problems with units carried on every line. A worksheet for your own practice problems can be prepared on request.
How do I calculate a weight-based pediatric dose?
Convert the weight to kilograms, multiply by the ordered dose per kilogram, divide by the number of doses if the order is daily, then convert to volume using the concentration. This sample works that for amoxicillin in a 22-pound child.