Dan Skidmore Math 1020 Project Math 1020 -7/29/2013 -Page 1

Math 1020 Project

Name(s): Dan Skidmore

You may do this project individually or in a group of no more than three people. Answer all questions. Turn in answers to questions 1-10 as a group. Suppose 25.6% and 5.7% solutions are available. Our goal is to make 1 L of an 8.3% Solution and verify that the strength is correct. 1. Interpret the percent strength 2 5 . 6 %. 25.6g/100 mL 2. Interpret the percent strength 5 . 7 %. 5.7g/100mL 3. Interpret the percent strength 8 . 3 %. 8.3g/100ml 4. Describe how you mix the 25.6% and 5.7% solutions to get 1 L of an 8.3% solution. Round to the nearest natural number in mL. Using Shanes formula to figure out how much how much of the 25.6% we need. F= 1000 (8.3-5.7) / (25.6-5.7) where F= 131mL So we add 131 ml of the 25.6% solution and add 5.7 % solution until we get 1000 mL 5. How many mL of the 25.6% solution do you use? 131mL 6. How many grams of pure drug are there in the above volume? Round to the nearest tenth. 33.5g 7. How many mL of the 5.7% solution do you use? 869mL 8. How many grams of pure drug are there in the above volume? Round to the nearest tenth.

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49.5g 9. Find the sum of the number of grams of pure drug from the 25.6% and 5.7% solutions. 83g 10. How many grams of pure drug are there in 1 L of the 8.3% solution? 83g

Is medical math more important than a passing grade?

Medical math is critically important in healthcare as it is used every day. It is also by multiple people that interact with the patients. Not only the doctor giving prescriptions, but the nursed giving the IVs, the people in records, in the pharmacy, and the list goes on. The numbers that each one of these people use can determine how a patient is treated and what medicines are used. Because of this it is important that people in the medical field place math in a high priority, because a simple mistake can lead to the loss of a job or even someones life. Another reason we must master these skills is because it can comfort our patients. If put in a situation where you need to convert metric to the English system on the fly, standing dumbfounded in front of a patient is not very comforting. This could lead to them questioning our competency or leading to high levels of stress in an already stressful environment. Going further as to how math is specifically involved in the medical field. First we have prescription drugs; they have a wide variety of being measured. For instance one could be a dose by kilograms and if you only have pounds on your record you will need to accurately convert that. Or if you need to calculate peoples Body Surface Area, and only have the patients height and weight. Not all drugs can be given syringe or pills, some need to be given constantly for a certain amount of time via an IV system. Using this method you need to set the amount of drips per minute so they can get a small dose of the drug over a long period of time.

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Getting a passing grade can be good motivation to do well in a math class. But with a class like this a lot more caution needs to be taken. There is extra motivation to do homework and making sure that you understand the concepts. Simply because how well you do in this class could not only prevent you from making a potentially fatal mistake, but could also help you catch someone elses mistake and save a life.