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Henkes Med Math Dosage Calculation Preparation and Administration 8Th Edition PDF Full Chapter PDF
Henkes Med Math Dosage Calculation Preparation and Administration 8Th Edition PDF Full Chapter PDF
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Acknowledgments
vi
vii
Glossary 523
Index 529
Arithmetic Needed
for Dosage
TOPICS COVERED
1. Multiplication and division of whole numbers, fractions, and decimals
2. Addition and subtraction of fractions
3. Reading decimals
4. Changing decimals to fractions
5. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of decimals
6. Clearing and rounding of decimals
7. Percents
8. Solving ratio and proportion
When a medication order differs from the fixed amount at which a drug is supplied, you must calculate
the dose needed. Calculation requires knowledge of the systems of dosage measurements (see Chapter 2)
and the ability to solve arithmetic. This chapter covers the common arithmetic functions needed for the
safe administration of drugs.
Examples that use basic arithmetic functions include problems in dosage calculations such as:
45.5 mL water + 34.75 mL juice = total intake
administer 1.5 mg of a drug; if you have 0.75 mg on hand, how much more of the drug do you need?
administer 3 tablets; if each tablet is 1.5 mg, what is the total dose?
administer 7.5 mg of a drug; if you have 1.25 mg tablets on hand, how many tablets need to be given?
on hand are two ophthalmic solutions: 0.05% and 0.02%. Which solution is strongest?
Beginning students invariably express anxiety that they will miscalculate a dose and cause harm.
lthough everyone is capable of error, no one has to cause an error. The surest way to prevent a mistake is
A
to exercise care in performing basic arithmetic operations and practice basic arithmetic calculations.
For students who believe their arithmetic skills are already satisfactory, this chapter contains self-
tests and a proficiency exam. Once you pass the proficiency exam, you can move on to other chapters
in the book.
Students with math anxiety and those with deficiencies in performing arithmetic will want to work
through this chapter. Examples demonstrate how to perform calculations; the self-tests provide practice
and drill. FINE POINTS boxes explain details about the calculation. After you’ve mastered the content,
take the proficiency exam to verify your readiness to move on.
Since calculators are readily available, why go through all the arithmetic? For one thing, using a cal-
culator still requires that you to know what numbers and functions to enter. In clinical situations you may
encounter some problems that require a calculator’s help, but it’s good to know how to make calculations
on your own. Solving the arithmetic problems yourself helps you think logically about the amount ordered
and the relative dose needed. And when you can mentally calculate dosage, you increase your speed and
efficiency in preparing medications. Work out the problems in this chapter with and without a calculator.
SELF-TEST 1 Multiplication
Write the answers to these problems. Answers are given at the end of the chapter; aim for 100%.
1. 2 × 6 = 10. 8 × 9 = 19. 4 × 9 =
2. 9 × 7 = 11. 3 × 5 = 20. 3 × 8 =
3. 4 × 8 = 12. 6 × 7 = 21. 12 × 11 =
4. 5 × 9 = 13. 4 × 6 = 22. 9 × 5 =
5. 12 × 9 = 14. 9 × 6 = 23. 9 × 9 =
6. 8 × 3 = 15. 8 × 8 = 24. 7 × 5 =
7. 11 × 10 = 16. 7 × 8 = 25. 12 × 10 =
8. 2 × 7 = 17. 2 × 9 =
9. 8 × 6 = 18. 8 × 11 =
SELF-TEST 2 Division
Write the answers to the following problems. Answers are given at the end of the chapter.
1. 63 ÷ 7 = 10. 18 ÷ 3 = 19. 36 ÷ 6 =
2. 24 ÷ 6 = 11. 72 ÷ 8 = 20. 18 ÷ 9 =
3. 36 ÷ 12 = 12. 48 ÷ 8 = 21. 21 ÷ 3 =
4. 42 ÷ 6 = 13. 28 ÷ 7 = 22. 48 ÷ 4 =
5. 35 ÷ 5 = 14. 21 ÷ 7 = 23. 144 ÷ 12 =
6. 96 ÷ 12 = 15. 24 ÷ 8 = 24. 56 ÷ 8 =
7. 12 ÷ 3 = 16. 84 ÷ 12 = 25. 60 ÷ 5 =
8. 27 ÷ 9 = 17. 81 ÷ 9 =
9. 49 ÷ 7 = 18. 32 ÷ 8 =
Fractions
A fraction is a portion of a whole number. The top number in a fraction is called the numerator, and
the bottom number is called the denominator. The line between the numerator and the denominator is
a division sign. Therefore, you can read the fraction 14 as “one divided by four.”
EXAMPLE 1 → numerator
4 → denominator
Types of Fractions
In a proper fraction, the numerator is smaller than the denominator.
EXAMPLE 2
5 (Read as “two fifths.”)
EXAMPLE 5
2
(Read as “five halves.”)
EXAMPLE
1 23 (Read as “one and two thirds.”)
In a complex or common fraction, both the numerator and the denominator are already fractions.
EXAMPLE 1
2
(Read as “one half divided by one fourth.”)
1
4
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 1:
Reduce 4
12
1
4 1
12
= 3
3
EXAMPLE 2:
Reduce 7
49
FINE POINTS
1 Check to see if the denominator is evenly
7 1
49
= 7 divisible by the numerator. In this exam-
7 ple, the number 7 can be evenly divided
into 49.
Sometimes fractions are more difficult to reduce because the answer is not obvious.
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 1:
56
Reduce 96 FINE POINTS
1
56 8 ×7 7 In Example 1, note both the numerator
96
= 8 × 12
= 12 and denominator can be evenly divided
1
by 8. In Example 2 both can be evenly
divided by 9.
EXAMPLE 2:
54
Reduce 99
1
54 9×6 6
99
= 9 × 11
= 11
1
When you need to reduce a very large fraction, it may be difficult to determine the largest number that
will divide evenly into both the numerator and the denominator. You may have to reduce the fraction sev-
eral times.
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 1:
189
Reduce 216 FINE POINTS
63 Prime numbers cannot be reduced any
189 63
Try to divide both by 3 216
= 72 further. Examples are 2, 3, 5, 7, and 11.
72
When reducing, if the last number is even
1
63 9×7 7 or a zero, try 2.
Then use multiples 72
= 9×8
= 8
1 If the last number is a zero or 5, try 5.
If the last number is odd, try 3, 7, or 11.
EXAMPLE 2:
27
Reduce 135
9 1
Try to divide both by 3 27 9 1
135
= 45
= 5
45 5
Then divide by 9.
Reduce these fractions to their lowest terms. Answers are given at the end of the chapter.
16 8
1. 24 6. 48
36 12
2. 216 7. 30
18 68
3. 96 8. 136
70 55
4. 490 9. 121
18 15
5. 81 10. 60
Adding Fractions
If you need to add two fractions that have the same denominator, first add the two numerators; write that
sum over the denominator and, if necessary, reduce.
1
5
+ 35 = 4
5
If the two fractions have different denominators, the process takes two steps. First convert each frac-
tion, multiplying both of its numbers by their lowest common denominator. After you’ve converted both
fractions, add their two numerators together. If necessary, reduce.
3 32 2
+ += =
5 53 3
3
5
+ 23 35=(( 35×× 33(( ××)) 33=)) 15
=9 15
=9 35= 35
3 ( × 3 )2 ( 2× 95( ×
= )=5=)3510
5 ( × 3 )3 ( 3×15 = 10
= 2= 2
5( × ) 5 ) 15 15 3 3
2 ( × 5 )9 91010 10219 19
= +==3 = or or1 1541 154
3 ( × 5 )15 1+51515 15 15 15
9 10 19
+ = 15 or 1 154
15 15
Subtracting Fractions
To subtract two fractions that have the same denominator, first subtract their numerators and then write
the difference over the denominator. Reduce if necessary.
27
32
− 18
32
= 9
32
= 1
2
If the two fractions have different denominators, first convert each fraction using the lowest common
denominator (just as you did in the adding example above). Then subtract the numerators, and reduce
again if necessary.
7 72 2
− −= =
8 83 3
7 7 ( 7× (3 ×) 3 ) 21 21 7
8
− 23 8=( 8× (3 ×) 3=) 24 = 24
= 8= 7
8
7 ( × 3 )2 ( 2×21
= 8(8( ××)) 88==)) 8716
8 ( × 3 )3 ( 3×24 = 16
= 2=
24 24 3
2
3
2 ( × 8 )21 216 2
= −12416
3 ( × 8 )24 24 −=16 = =5 5
24 243 24 24
21 16 5
24
− 24 = 24
Add and subtract these fractions. Answers are given at the end of the chapter.
15 5
1. 3
7 + 2
7 = 6. 16
− 16 =
3 1 3 2
2. 5
+ 5
= 7. 7 − 7 =
2 1 3 2
3. 4
+ 4
= 8. 5
− 15 =
11 7
4. 2
3
+ 1
6
= 9. 15
− 10 =
1 1 8 5
5. 2
+ 3
= 10. 9
− 12 =
Multiplying Fractions
There are two ways to multiply fractions. Use whichever method is more comfortable for you.
First Way
Multiply the numerators across. Multiply denominators across. Reduce the answer to its lowest terms.
EXAMPLE 2 3 2×3 6
7 ×2 4 =3 7 × 24 ×=3 28 6
× =
726 × 3 4 1 67 × 4 =
2 3 22 × 33 28
7 × 4 =77×× 44 =6 28 =
7 × 423 ×× 32281 3
2 3 21 ×23×283 6= 6 14 ×32×==
1= 2 614 3
76 × 4 3=×672×74 3=34×28 =
7 × 41 28= 14
282 3 ×2
14
= 14 28 == 14 =1
3 ×362×62 14 31
28
26 2 × 22121×263×14
3 33××=
× = =3 =1 28 =
7 =47 4 7 ×28 7 =× 4
14 × 2 1 1414 × 21
28 4 28 14
11
26 6 3=3 ×322××23 3 63
728× =414=14
28 = = 14
×72× 42 14 28
1
11
6 3× 2 3
= 14 × 2 = 14
Second28Way (When You 1
Are Multiplying Several Fractions)
First, reduce each fraction by dividing its numerator evenly into its denominator. Multiply the remaining
numerators across. Multiply the remaining denominators across. Check to see if further reductions are
possible. In Example 1, because of several fractions, you can use any numerator to divide into any of the
denominators.
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 1: 1 1 1
3 7 5 3 7 5 1
14
× 10 × 12 = 14
× 10
× 12
= 16 FINE POINTS
1 1 12 2 4
2 3 3 7 2 × 53 63 7 5 1 The denominators are
× × = ×
714 4 10 7 ×12 4
= 28
14
× 10
× 12
= 16 14 ÷ 7 = 2
2 2 4 being divided by the
1 1 1 1 10 ÷ 5 = 2
3 7 5 236 3 73 × 22 ×53 3 61 numerators to reduce.
× 10 × 12 = 728××=410= × = = 28
14 14 14 ×72×124 14 16 12 ÷ 3 = 4
2 2 11 4
6 3× 2 3
28
= 14 × 2 = 14
If you’re multiplying
1 mixed numbers, you first need to change each of them into an improper fraction.
The process: For each fraction, multiply the whole number by the denominator; then add that total to the
numerator.
EXAMPLE12: 2
3 4
1 12 × 46 = 2
× 6 = 22 =1
1 2 1 2
2 3 1 2 × 34 36 4 2
7 × =
1 ×
4 27 × 46
= 28
2
× 6
= 2 =1
1 1 2 1 2
26 4 3 33× 22 × 43 3 26
1 12 × × = = × 4 =14 28
728 61 41422×72× 6=
= 2
=1
2 3 3 14 211× 232 6
1 12 × 46 76 ×2 4×3=6× 72=× 42 =
= = 128
3
28
=
1 2
14 × 12
= 14
6 3 × 21 3
28
= 14 × 2 = 14
1 EXAMPLE 3: 4
20
4
5
× 6 23 =4
5
× 3
= 16
3
4 1
2×3 20
2
7 × 43 45= ×7 6× 423 = 46
28
5
× 3
= 16
3
1 4 1
× 627623×==43 345=××722××3=
4 203 3 16
5 = 63
28 14 × 2 4 14 28
1 11
6 3× 2 3
28
= 14 × 2 = 14
1
Multiply these fractions. Reduce if necessary. Answers are given at the end of the chapter.
5 3 2
1. 1
6
× 4
5
× 2
= 5. 3 4 × 10 3 = 9. 5 81 × 8 16 × 1
7 =
11 1 2
2. 4
× 3
= 6.
7 2
× 14 = 10. 12
× 4
× 3
=
15 2 20
3. 1 12 × 4 23 = 7. 9
2
× 3
2
=
9
4. 1
× 15
= 8. 6 14 × 7 19 × 5
=
5 45
Dividing Fractions
To divide two fractions, first invert the fraction that is after the division sign, then change the division sign
to a multiplication sign. Reduce to lowest number.
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 1:
2
150
1
75
1
÷ 150 = 1
× 1
=2 FINE POINTS
75
1
2 Complex fractions such as
1 1 1 150
75
÷ 150 = × 1
=2
75 1
2 1
150 4 1 3
1 1
÷ 150 = 1
× =2 are read as ÷
75 75 1 3 4 8
1 8
EXAMPLE 3:
3
115 6
2 = 65 ÷ 23 = 5
× 3
2
= 9
5
or 1 45
3 1
3
115 6
2 = 65 ÷ 23 = 5
× 3
2
= 9
5
or 1 45
3 1
3
115 6
2 = 65 ÷ 23 = 5
× 3
2
= 9
5
or 1 45
3 1
3
115 6
2 = 65 ÷ 23 = 5
× 3
2
= 9
5
or 1 45
3 1
Divide these fractions. Answers are given at the end of the chapter.
1 1 7 7
1. 75
÷ 150 = 5. 25
÷ 75 = 9. 5
÷ 1
=
8 3
1
2. 1
8
÷ 1
4
= 6. 2
÷ 14 = 10. 5 12 ÷ 1
=
4
3. 2 23 ÷ 1
2
= 7. 3
4
÷ 83 =
7
4. 75 ÷ 12 12 = 8. 1
60
÷ 10 =
1 ← numerator = dividend
4 ← denominator = divisor
2. Write
41 )
3. Some people find it easier to simply extend the fraction’s straight line to the right, then strike out
the numerator and place that same number down into the “box.”
1 1
=
4
4 1 )
4. Once you’ve set up the structure for your division problem, place a decimal point immediately after
the dividend. Put another decimal point on the quotient line (above), lining up that point exactly
with the decimal point below.
By placing your decimal points carefully, you can avoid serious dosage errors.
1 . ← quotient
)
4 1. ← dividend
FINE POINTS
If the answer does not have a whole
5. Complete the division. number, place a zero before the decimal
1 .25 = 0.25 point: .25 is incorrect; 0.25 is correct.
)
4 1.00
8
This is called a leading zero.
The number of places to carry out the
20 decimal will vary depending on the drug
20 and equipment used. For these exercises,
0 when possible, carry answers to the
thousandths place (three decimal places).
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 1:
5 5 0.312
=
)
16 = 0.312
16 5.000
4 8
20
16
40
32
8
EXAMPLE 2:
Divide these fractions to produce decimals. Answers are given at the end of the chapter. Carry
decimal point to three decimal places if necessary. (Do not use rounding rules yet!)
1 1
1. 6
5. 8 9. 5
8
6 1 1
2. 8
6. 7 10. 5
4 1
3. 5
7. 3
9 11
4. 40 8. 12
Decimals
Most medication orders are written in the metric system, which uses decimals.
( 100 )
EXAMPLE 56
0.56 = “fifty-six hundredths”
FINE POINTS
0.2 = “two tenths” ( 102 )
Notice the use of the “leading zero.”
0.194 = “one hundred ninety-four This is a zero used before a decimal point
thousandths” 194 ( 1000 ) when writing only a decimal number.
This leading zero is used in dosage
0.31 = “thirty-one hundredths” ( 100
31
) calculations to reduce errors in writing
decimals.
1.6 = “one and six tenths” (1 10
6
)
17.354 = “seventeen and three hundred
fifty-four thousandths” (17 1000
354 .
)
Write these decimals in longhand and as fractions. Do not reduce. Answers are given at the end of
the chapter.
1. 0.25 ________________________________________________________________________
2. 0.004 _______________________________________________________________________
3. 1.7 _________________________________________________________________________
4. 0.5 _________________________________________________________________________
5. 0.334 _______________________________________________________________________
6. 136.75 ______________________________________________________________________
7. 0.1 _________________________________________________________________________
8. 0.15 ________________________________________________________________________
9. 2.25 ________________________________________________________________________
10. 10.325 ______________________________________________________________________
EXAMPLE 1:
0.8
+ 0.6
1.4
EXAMPLE 2:
10.30
+ 3.28
13.58
To subtract decimals, stack your two decimals as you did for addition, lining up the decimal points as
before. Starting at the far right of the stack, subtract the numbers; again, make sure that the decimal point
in your answer aligns with those above it.
EXAMPLE 1:
2 9 10
13 − 12.54 = 13 .0 0
− 12.54
0.46
EXAMPLE 2:
4 16
14.56 − 0.47 = 14 .56
− 0.47
14.09
Add and subtract these decimals. Answers are given at the end of the chapter.
Multiplying Decimals
Line up the numbers on the right. Do not align the decimal points. Starting on the right, multiply each
digit in the top number by each digit in the bottom number, just as you would with whole numbers. Add
the products. Place the decimal point in the answer by starting at the right and moving the point the same
number of places equal to the sum of the decimal places in
both numbers multiplied, count the number of places that
you totaled earlier. If you end up with any blank spaces, fill FINE POINTS
each one with a zero.
Avoid the “trailing zero.” There should
EXAMPLE 1: be no zeroes used to the right of the
decimal point. The use of the trailing zero
2.6 × 0.03 = 2.6 (1 decimal place)
often leads to errors in writing decimals.
× 0.03 ( 2 decimaal places)
0.078 (3 decimal places from the right)
EXAMPLE 2:
FINE POINTS
200 × 0.03 = 200 ( no decimal place)
0.03 ( 2 decimaal places) A quick “double-check” to determine
6.00 ( 2 decimal places from the right) decimal places is to count the number
or of decimal places in each number that is
6 being multiplied. The answer should have
the same number of decimal places.
Dividing Decimals
A reminder: The number being divided is called the dividend; the number doing the dividing is called the
divisor; and the answer is called the quotient.
0.312 → quotient
)
divisor →16 5.000 → dividend
Note: As soon as you write your dividend, place a decimal point immediately after it. Then place another
decimal point directly above it, on the quotient line.
.
)
EXAMPLE 13
16 16 130
Divide.
EXAMPLE 0.812
)
16 13.000
12 8
20
16
40
32
8
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 1:
) )
0.2 0.004 = 0.: 2 0 .: 0 04
0.02
Hence, 2 00.04)
EXAMPLE 2:
1.262 FINE POINTS
) )
4 .: 3 5.: 4 27 becomes 43. 54.270
43
When you’re dividing, the answer may
not come out even. The dosage calcula-
11 2 tion problems give directions on how
86 many places to carry out your answer.
2 67 In Example 2, the answer is carried out
2 58 to three decimal places.
90
86
4
Do these problems in division of decimals. The answers are given at the end of this chapter. If neces-
sary, carry the answer to three places (unless the answer comes out “even”). (Do not use rounding
rules yet!)
To obtain an answer that’s rounded off to the nearest tenth, look at the number in the hundredth place and
follow the above rule for rounding off.
If you want an answer that’s rounded off to the nearest hundredth, look at the number in the thousandth
place and f ollow the above rule for rounding off.
And if you want an answer that’s rounded off to the nearest thousandth, look at the number in the
ten-thousandth place and follow the same rules.
Round off these decimals as indicated. Answers are given at the end of the chapter.
Nearest Tenth Nearest Hundredth Nearest Thousandth
1. 0.25 = ______________ 6. 1.268 = ______________ 11. 1.3254 = ______________
2. 1.84 = ______________ 7. 0.751 = ______________ 12. 0.0025 = ______________
3. 3.27 = ______________ 8. 0.677 = ______________ 13. 0.4521 = ______________
4. 0.05 = ______________ 9. 4.539 = ______________ 14. 0.7259 = ______________
5. 0.63 = ______________ 10. 1.222 = ______________ 15. 0.3482 = ______________
In each pair, underline the decimal with the greater value. Answers are given at the end of the chapter.
Percents
Percent means “parts per hundred.” Percent is a fraction, containing a variable numerator and a denomina-
tor that’s always 100. You can write a percent as a fraction, a ratio, or a decimal. (To write a ratio, use two
numbers separated by a colon. Example: 1:100. Read this ratio as “one is to a hundred.”)
5
Percent written as a fraction: 5% = 100
EXAMPLE 2:
Change to a decimal.
4 .04
)
4% = = 0.04
100 4.00
OR By keeping the decimal, placing the number over 100, and then dividing
0.2 0.002
)
0.2% = = 0.002
100 0.200
OR B y turning it into a complex fraction. If you’re using this method, remember to invert the number
after the division sign and then multiply. A whole number always has a denominator of 1.
2 2
1010
0.02.%
2% = =100100= =
2
10 2 2 100
0.2% = 100 = ÷ ÷ 100= =
1010 1 1
2
2
0.210
% ÷= 10010 2 2 1 1
1 =
100
2 2
=1010× ×100100= =1000
1000
1 1
2
× 100
÷ 1 2
= 1000 2 2
10 100 1 = =1500
1000 500
1000
1
2 1
× 21 = 1000 25050
1
0 0
10 100
1000
= 500
50120
1
= 500
Percents That Are Fractions
1000
500
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 1: EXAMPLE 2:
1 1
1
4
% = 4
100
= 14 ÷ 100
1
= 1
4
1
× 100 = 1
400
1
2
% = 2
100
= 12 ÷ 100
1
= 12 × 100
1
= 1
200
1 1
1
4
%= 4
100
= 1
4
÷ 100
1
= 1
4
1
× 100 = 1
400
1
2
%= 2
100
= 12 ÷ 100
1
= 12 × 100
1
= 1
200
1 1
1
4
% = 4
100
= 1
4
÷ 100
1
= 1
4
1
× 100 = 1
400
1
2
2
% = 100 = 1
2
÷ 100
1
= 12 × 100
1
= 1
200
1 1
1
4
%= 4
100
= 1
4
÷ 100
1
= 1
4
1
× 100 = 1
400
1
2
%= 2
100
= 12 ÷ 100
1
= 12 × 100
1
= 1
200
1 1
1
4
% = 4
100
= 1
4
÷ 100
1
= 1
4
1
× 100 = 1
400
1
2
% = 2
100
= 12 ÷ 100
1
= 12 × 100
1
= 1
200
ALTERNATIVE WAY. Because 12 = 0.5 , 12 % could also be written as 0.5%. If you follow the rule of clearing
a percent by moving the decimal point two places to the left, you get 00.5% = 0.005. Note that 0.005 is
:
5 1 . You could also write 0.5
1000
= 200 100
Change these percents to both a fraction and a decimal. Reduce if necessary. Answers are given at
the end of the chapter.
Fractions, ratios, and decimals also can be converted to percents. Again, remember that percent means
“parts of a hundred.”
If the denominator is not 100, you must convert the fraction, using 100 as the denominator. In this ex-
ample, multiply the numerator and denominator, using 20 as the lowest common denominator:
3 60
5
= 100
= 60%
0.05 = 0.05 = 5% 0 +
Change these percents to a fraction, ratio, and a decimal. Answers are given at the end of the chapter.
Do not reduce.
6. 7
10
= 9. 0.56 =
10. 3 =
7. 2:5 =
8. 0.08 =
EXAMPLE 2 10
8
= 40
(Read the proportion like this: “two is to eight as ten is to forty.”)
5:30 : : 6:36 (Read as “five is to thirty as six is to thirty-six.”)
Proportions written with two ratios and the double colon can also be written as
fractions. Thus, 5:30 : : 6:36 becomes
5 6
30 = 36
Step 1. Cross-multiply.
Step 2. Clear x.
Step 3. Reduce.
Step 2. Clear x by dividing both sides of the equation with the number that precedes x.
0.25
x= 0.125
EXAMPLE 45 = 3
180 x
45 x = 540
x = 540
45
x = 12
4 : (9 3.2 : : 7 : x
(9
4x = 22.4
Step 2. Clear x by dividing both sides of the equation with the number that precedes x.
22.4
x= 4
EXAMPLE
11 : 121 : : 3 : x
(9
11x = 363
33.
)
11 363.
33
33
33
x = 33
Solve these proportions. Answers are given at the end of the chapter.
120 16 81 x 0.25 x
1. 4.2
= x 5. 3
= 15
9. 500
= 1000
2. 750 : 250 : : x : 5 6. 0.125 : 0.5 : : x : 10 10. x : 20 : : 2.5 : 100
1 x
3. 14
140
= 22
x 7. 50
= 40
4. 2 : 5 : : x : 10 8. x : 12 : : 9 : 24
You know that the liquid comes as 0.125 mg in 4 mL. And you know that the amount you want is
0.5 mg. You don’t know, however, what amount of liquid is needed to equal 0.5 mg. So, you need one
more piece of information: the unknown, or x.
You can set up and solve this arithmetic operation as a proportion, using either two fractions or two
ratios. Notice that both methods eventually become the same calculation.
0.5 Zz x
X=x
0.125 4
0.125 x = 2 0.5 0(9 .125 x 4
(9
↓ 0.125 x = 2
↓
0.125 x 2
=
0.125 0.125 0.125 x 2
=
↓ 0.125 0.125
↓
2 2
x= x=
0.125 0.125
↓ ↓
x= 2 16. x= 2 16.
0 .125
: )
2 . 000
: . 0 .125
: 2 .)000
: .
1 25 1 25
750 750
750 750
x = 16
So far, you’ve learned two ways to solve dosage calculation problems: the ratio method (i.e., the
p roportion of two ratios) and the proportion method (i.e., the proportion of two fractions). Chapter 4
introduces the simpler formula method, which is derived from ratio and proportion. Also, Chapter 4
explains another less complicated way: the dimensional analysis method. Throughout the book, self-test
and proficiency test problems illustrate solutions reached by all four methods of calculation.
Name: ___________________________________________________________________________
These arithmetic operations are needed to calculate doses. Reduce if necessary. See Appendix A for
answers. Your instructor can provide other practice tests if necessary.
A. Multiply
0.56
a) 647 b) 8
× 12
c)
× 38 9 32 × 0.17
Answers
Self-Test 1 Multiplication
1. 12 5. 108 9. 48 13. 24 17. 18 20. 24 23. 81
2. 63 6. 24 10. 72 14. 54 18. 88 21. 132 24. 35
3. 32 7. 110 11. 15 15. 64 19. 36 22. 45 25. 120
4. 45 8. 14 12. 42 16. 56
Self-Test 2 Division
1. 9 5. 7 9. 7 13. 4 17. 9 20. 2 23. 12
2. 4 6. 8 10. 6 14. 3 18. 4 21. 7 24. 7
3. 3 7. 4 11. 9 15. 3 19. 6 22. 12 25. 12
4. 7 8. 3 12. 6 16. 7
2 2 1
4 3 12 2 4 3 2
2. 15
× = 2 30
= 2. 15 × 2 = 5
5
5 5 1
(Divide by 6.)
(continued)
Whilst all this turmoil had been going on, Paris was no less a scene
of excitement; indeed, it was greater, inasmuch as it affected a larger
number of persons. The awful death of Sainte-Croix, and the
discoveries which had arisen from the unexpected revelation of the
casket, furnished sufficient matter for conversation to all the gossips
of the good city. Maître Glazer’s shop was more than ever besieged
by the curious bourgeoisie, as he was supposed to be better
acquainted than any one else, not even excepting the commissary of
police, with the circumstances of the event. But it was remarked that
Philippe preserved a perfect silence respecting the share which the
Marchioness of Brinvilliers was known to have had in the
transactions of the newly-discovered poisoners. He always avoided
the most distant allusion to the catastrophe, and even when Maître
Picard wished to push his questions very closely—half in his
capacity of public functionary, half as a private gossip—the young
student generally cut all his queries so very short, that Picard almost
imagined he must have been one of the parties implicated.
‘For, look you, messieurs,’ the little chapelier would say, when he
got out of Philippe’s ear-shot, and was traversing the Place Maubert,
‘Madame de Brinvilliers had as many accomplices as our good King
Louis—whom Montespan preserve!—has sweethearts. Else, whence
came the powerful armed force which unhorsed me on the road to
Le Bourget?’
‘She had dealings with the sorcerers,’ observed a neighbour.
‘I believe it,’ replied M. Picard. ‘I heard of her with Exili, who is
about to suffer at the gibbet of Montfaucon, the night M. de Sainte-
Croix died. And the exempt’s guards, who returned to Paris, have
affirmed that she flew past them on a whirlwind whilst they halted at
Le Bourget. She will never be taken—no: the devil would save her
from the centre of the Chambre Ardente itself, even if M. La Reynie
had the care of her. Allons! buvons! it is a wicked world!’
And then the little bourgeois and his neighbours turned into the
nearest tavern, and, whatever might be the time of day at their
entrance, never appeared until after curfew had sounded, when
Maître Picard was usually conducted home to the Rue de la Harpe
by the Gascon, Jean Blacquart, whose unwillingness to engage in
personal encounter was scarcely sufficient to keep the chapelier
from pot-valiantly embroiling himself with everybody unarmed that he
chanced to meet. Our business is not, however, so much with these
personages just at present; but with those of whom we have not
heard for some little time.
Night was closing round the gloomy precincts of the Cimetière des
Innocents—mysterious, cold, cheerless. The snow lay upon the
burial-ground, and clung to the decaying wreaths and garlands that
rotted on the iron crosses which started up from the earth. The
solemn and dreary place was doubly desolate in the wintry trance of
nature. In the centre of the cemetery a tall obelisk arose, and on the
summit of this, some fifteen feet from the ground, was a large
lantern, from which a pale light gleamed over the abodes of the
dead, throwing its rays sufficiently far to reveal a ghastly procession
of corpses, of all ages and professions, painted on the walls and
covered charnels in which the wealthier classes were interred who
chose to carry their exclusiveness into the very grave. This danse
macabre, or dance of death, was then rapidly becoming invisible at
different stages of its march. At various parts of the enclosure small
lamps struggled with the wind, as they hung before images of the
Virgin placed in niches of the walls and tombs, and lights were
visible in the higher windows of the crowded, and not unpicturesque,
buildings that enclosed the cemetery; but elsewhere everything was
dark, and the place was untenanted but by the dead.
One figure, however, might have been seen kneeling at a fresh
grave for some time, in spite of the inclemency of the weather. And
about this the snow had been cleared away; the chaplets on the
small cross were fresh, and a few dark evergreens were planted at
the head and foot. A scroll in the ironwork bore the inscription, ‘Cy
giste Gaudin de Sainte-Croix, qui trépassa, la vingt-neuvième année
de son âge.’ It was the tomb of the guilty lover of the Marchioness of
Brinvilliers, and the solitary mourner was Louise Gauthier.
Of all with whom Sainte-Croix had been on terms of intimacy, not
one had cared to make inquiry after him, when the report of his
death was first promulgated, but the Languedocian. But Louise,
assisted by Benoit (with whom she had returned to live, since the
evening at the Hôtel de Cluny, when she again fell in with him), had
seen the body taken from the dismal vault below the Palais des
Thermes to his old abode in the Rue des Bernardins. She had been
the solitary mourner when his body was rudely consigned to that part
of the ground allotted to those for whom no consecrated rites were
offered; and her own hands afterwards had adorned the grave—the
only one thus distinguished in this division of the cemetery—with the
humble tributes that were about it. All this she had done without one
tear or expression of the wretchedness that was breaking her heart;
but when it was accomplished, she gave full vent to her pent-up
feelings, and was accustomed to seek the cemetery every evening,
weeping and praying in the terrible solitude of the burial-place, over
the grave whose narrow limits comprised her world.
It was past the time of curfew; but the city of Paris had not the air
of quietude which it usually bore at this period of the night. The
murmur of a distant multitude could be heard mingling with the
occasional solemn tolling of some hoarse and deep-mouthed bell,
and now and then the roll of drums calling troops together. Louise
had been some hours in the cemetery, when she was surprised by
the appearance of Benoit and his wife, who had come to seek her,
alarmed at her unusual stay from home, although they were aware of
the locality in which she was most likely to be found. The honest
couple had started off together to bring her back; and now, assisting
her to rise, had persuaded her to return with them.
As they got into the Rue des Lombards, on their way towards the
river, a sudden rush of people in great numbers separated them from
one another, and they were obliged to fall in with the stream, which,
increasing at every corner of a fresh thoroughfare, almost carried
them off their legs. Louise addressed a few questions to some that
she came in contact with, but no answer was returned; all appeared
too anxious to hurry onward. Soon the crowd became more dense in
the narrow streets, and the confusion and jostling was increased by
the mounted guard who pressed on through the people, almost
riding them down, amidst the screams of the women and curses of
the men, who only received a few blows in return. She was now
entirely borne onward by the multitude, and in the dense mass of
people could scarcely look up to see in what direction she was being
impelled, until she found herself close to the Grand Châtelet.
The whole of the carrefour was lined with troops carrying cressets,
so that it was light as day; and in the centre a scaffold was erected,
on which one or two figures were standing. One of these was a
priest, the others were masked, and held what appeared in the
distance to be long staves in their hands. Louise’s heart sickened as
she foresaw that she was about to be present at an execution, and
one of the most terrible kind. There was no headsman’s block on the
platform; but some apparatus could be seen upon the floor, but a few
inches in height. A wretch was about to be broken on the wheel.
Suddenly the murmurs of the people ceased; lights moved in slow
procession from the Châtelet, and the voices of monks could be
heard chaunting a requiem. They advanced between lines of troops
towards the scaffold, and then the criminal could be distinctly seen.
He was not walking, however, between them, nor was he dragged on
a sledge, but borne on a species of bier, raised on the shoulders of
some of the soldiery; from which the spectators knew that the
question had been undergone, and the rack had left its victim
crippled, with dislocated limbs. By the men in masks he was lifted on
to the platform, and then a yell from the vast multitude assembled
broke the silence that had just reigned. It was a terrible cry of ferocity
and denunciation.
Louise could scarcely speak; but she asked a female who was
close to her the name of the criminal.
‘One of the poisoners,’ replied the woman; ‘his name is
Lachaussée. He will make up for Sainte-Croix’s cheating us out of
his execution. And the Marchioness of Brinvilliers will follow, when
she is caught. Oh! these are brave times! I should like to have seen
Sainte-Croix broken. They say he was handsome; and that he would
have held out to the last. Hist!’
The noise of the multitude ceased as the priest advanced to the
edge of the scaffold and addressed them. His words could only be
heard by the few around him; but they were carried from one to the
other, and were to the effect that the criminal had refused to confess,
after having undergone the question both ordinary and extraordinary;
that his own guilt had been sufficiently proved; but that none of his
accomplices had been named, except his master and instructor,
Monsieur Gaudin de Sainte-Croix, upon whom a just retribution had
fallen. The last judgment of the law would now be carried into effect,
but the coup de grace would be withheld until the criminal had
confessed all that he was known to be acquainted with respecting
his presumed accomplice, the Marchioness of Brinvilliers, now in
sanctuary, as it was supposed, at a convent beyond the frontier.
There was an awful silence. The wretched man was seized by the
other figures on the scaffold and placed upon the wheel, and the
next minute the staff in the hands of one of the executioners was
raised. It descended with a dull, heavy sound, distinctly audible at
every part of the square, as was the sharp cry of agony that burst
from the lips of the culprit. The priest stooped down, and appeared to
commune with him; but in a few seconds he rose again, and the
blow was repeated, followed by the same scream, but less piercing
than before. Another and another followed, and then a conversation
of greater length took place between the criminal and his confessor.
The monk advanced again to the front of the scaffold, and waving his
hand, stopped the murmur that was rising from the crowd as they
commented on the proceedings.
‘The criminal Lachaussée has confessed,’ he said. ‘He
acknowledges his guilt, and also that of Madame Marie-Marguerite
d’Aubray, Marchioness of Brinvilliers, hitherto suspected, from whom
he owns to have received the poisons with which her two brothers
were murdered. The coup de grace may now be given.’
He held up a crucifix in sight of the writhing object of his speech,
and directed the chief executioner to despatch his victim. The man
again raised the bar, and it descended upon the breast of
Lachaussée, crushing all before it. No cry followed the blow this
time: the death of the wretched man was instantaneous.
The multitude remained silent for a few seconds, as if they were
listening for another cry. But voices were at length heard, first one
and then another, gradually spreading, until the murmur broke forth
into one savage roar of exultation, when they knew that the criminal
had ceased to exist. A clue had been found to the mystery in which
the deaths by poison had long been involved; and now that one of
the participators in the horrible deeds, that had so long baffled the
keenest vigilance of the authorities, had expiated his offence before
their eyes, their satisfaction knew no bounds. And when they had
thus vented their approval of the sight they had just witnessed, they
turned away from the carrefour, and began to leave the spot by the
different outlets.
Louise, who had been scarcely able to sustain herself through the
ghastly scene, was hurried on by the breaking up of the crowd, until
she contrived to get within a porte-cochère, meaning to let them
pass. But she had not been there an instant before she was
recognised by a man in the throng, who had been a servant of
François d’Aubray.
‘Ho!’ cried the fellow, as he saw her by the light of a cresset, ‘here
is another of them. I saw her with Madame de Brinvilliers the night
that her brothers were murdered. She is an empoisonneuse. To
prison with the witch!’
He advanced towards the poor girl as he spoke, whilst the crowd
stopped in their passage. But as he approached her he was seized
by a powerful arm, and, having been twisted round, was flung with
some violence upon the ground.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE GAME IS UP—THE TRAP—MARIE RETURNS WITH DESGRAIS TO THE
CONCIERGERIE
Any other officer than Desgrais would have given up further attempts
to arrest the Marchioness, now that she was in the sanctuary of a
convent—in a town, too, where any invasion of the privileges
belonging to a religious house would have been avenged with the
most unrelenting severity. But the exempt felt bitterly the manner in
which he had been more than once duped upon the road, at times
when his prey was completely within his grasp. He was exceedingly
sensitive as regarded his position, and reputation as the most
vigilant officer of the Maréchaussée, and he determined not to enter
Paris again until he could do so accompanied by the Marchioness.
To effect this, he took a lodging in a retired quarter of Liége, and
remained there for a few weeks, dismissing his archers and guards,
with orders to return to Givet, and be in readiness to join him at
Liége upon the shortest notice. To the Marchioness he was
personally unknown. She had not met him above once or twice, and
then without particularly regarding him; and this decided him as to
the course he would pursue. He was young and active; the very
business in which he was constantly engaged had given him
admission into all ranks of society; and he had tact and ready
perception to profit by his observations, and adopt the manners of
any particular class which he found it necessary to assume. He
arranged his plans and, when he imagined sufficient time had
elapsed, proceeded to put them into execution.
To effect the capture he disguised himself in the dress of an abbe,
and presented himself one evening at the gates of the convent in
which Marie had sought shelter, requesting to see her. The porter,
after a slight hesitation, admitted him to the parlour, and in a few
minutes the object of his venture appeared.
The Marchioness had entirely recovered from the fatigues of her
journey. Those who had known her intimately would have remarked
a few lines on her face, resulting from the agitation caused by recent
events; but to others there was still the same girlish, confiding face—
still the same blue lustrous eyes and smooth expansive forehead,
and the rosy lips still half-revealed the same beautiful teeth that had
so dazzled the sight of the gallants, and raised the envy of the
dames of the court at Versailles. She bowed gracefully to Desgrais
as she entered the room, and then in her softest tones inquired ‘to
what chance she was indebted for the honour of a visit from
Monsieur l’Abbé?’
‘I am a poor servant of the Church, madame,’ he replied, ‘and am
returning from a pilgrimage to Rome with relics to be deposited at
the Jacobins, in the Rue St. Honoré. Being detained at Liége upon
matters of ecclesiastical interest, I heard that you were here, and
came to offer my respects.’
‘I have done little to deserve this attention, my holy father,’ said
Marie.
‘You have suffered much undeserved misery, madame,’ answered
Desgrais. ‘You were a supporter of our Church—a good and
charitable lady, as all Paris can vouch; and I should have taken
blame unto myself had I not paid this tribute to your goodness.’
‘Alas! mon père!’ cried Marie; ‘would that the world could think of
me as well as you do. Of what avail has been my past life? You will
find, on your return to Paris, the blackest stories current against me.
A woman, once fallen, has no hope; but every one—those who
would have cringed to her the lowest when she was in her position
being the foremost—will hurry to crush her more utterly, to beat her
lower down. I am lost—for ever!’
‘Yet you should hope that the consciousness of your own
innocence will one day prevail,’ returned the exempt.
‘I have no hope, monsieur. I am alone in this dreary place—alone,
even in the midst of its inmates, as though I were shut out entirely
from the world.’
Desgrais paused for an instant. ‘She has not mentioned her
comrades,’ he said to himself, ‘and she was certainly accompanied
on the road. All accounts agree in this.’
‘You are mistaken, madame,’ he continued aloud. ‘Think. Is there
no one on whom you think you might rely?’
‘What mean you?’ inquired Marie eagerly.
For a few seconds they continued gazing at one another, each
waiting for the other to speak. Desgrais was waiting for some cue,
from which his tact might enable him to proceed, and the
Marchioness was fearful of committing herself by revealing more
than the other knew. Two deep and artful natures were pitted against
each other.
Desgrais was the first to speak. With an assumed expression of
countenance, calculated to impress his companion with the idea that
he understood everything then passing in her mind, and in a voice of
deep meaning, he said—
‘Is there no one, think you, who feels an interest in you? You can
trust me. What communication have you held with the world since
you have been in this retreat?’
‘None, father—on my soul, none.’
‘And have you expected to hear from no one?’ continued Desgrais
in the same tone.
‘Camille!’ exclaimed the Marchioness eagerly. And then, as if
aware she had been indiscreet, she closed her lips forcibly together,
and remained silent.
‘Yes—Camille,’ replied Desgrais, quickly catching at the name.
‘Did you think he had deserted you?’
And he looked cautiously round the parlour, and then placed his
finger on his mouth, as though he was fearful of being overheard.
‘I did not know in what quarter of the town he lived,’ she answered.
‘So,’ thought Desgrais, ‘he is in Liége, then.’
‘And besides,’ she went on, ‘circumstances are changed. He cares
no more for me.’
‘Would you see him?’ asked Desgrais.
The vanity of the woman triumphed over her caution. Camille
Theria, it was evident to Marie, had found his old attachment revive
as they had met again. He had forgotten his fiancée, and was
anxious again to see her.
‘Am I to believe you?’ she asked.
‘You may believe your eyes,’ replied the exempt. ‘He will be at the
tavern of the “Trois Rois” at curfew time to-night.’
‘Why will he not come here?’
‘Would it be advisable? You need fear nothing. I will escort you
from the convent and return with you.’
‘It will compromise your position,’ said Marie.
‘That will be my own affair, madame,’ replied Desgrais. ‘The
weather is unfavourable enough to drive the passengers from the
streets, and the night is dark. No harm can arrive.’
‘What can he want with me?’ said Marie, half speaking to herself,
as she appeared undecided how to act.
‘You will learn all,’ said Desgrais, not trusting himself to speak
further on a subject of which he was so utterly ignorant. ‘But time
presses, and the bells will soon ring out. Come, madame, come.’
Without any other covering than a cloak wrapped about her, and
concealing as much as possible her head and face, Marie yielded to
the persuasions of Desgrais, and, taking his arm, left the convent
unobserved, in the direction of the tavern he had mentioned. The
perfect quietude she had enjoyed since her arrival at the convent
had led her to believe that the French police had entirely given up
their intentions of arresting her. Sainte-Croix, in her fearful
heartlessness, had been already forgotten, and the prospect of a
new conquest—a new victim to her treacherous passions—drew her
on with irresistible attraction.
They traversed the steep and uneven streets of Liége until they
came to the door of the tavern, from whose windows the red
firelights were streaming across the thoroughfare. Desgrais muttered
a few words of excuse for the humble appearance of the place, and
then conducted Marie into the public room.
‘One instant,’ he said. ‘I will ask if he is here.’
He left the room, closing the door behind him, and Marie was a
few moments alone in the apartment. With some slight mistrust, she
listened for his return, and imagined she heard, for a few seconds,
the clank of arms. But this subsided almost immediately, and
Desgrais came back again.
‘Is he not yet here?’ she asked.
‘He is not, madame,’ said Desgrais in an altered tone; ‘nor is it
likely that he will come.’
‘What do you imply?’ exclaimed Marie, somewhat alarmed, and
advancing towards the door.
‘Pardon me, madame,’ said Desgrais, ‘but you cannot pass.’
‘Insolent!’ cried the Marchioness. ‘What does this outrage mean?’
‘That you are my prisoner, madame.’
‘Prisoner! And by whose orders?’
‘By order of his Majesty Louis XIV., King of France,’ cried Desgrais
loudly, as he threw aside his abbe’s robes, and appeared in his
under-clothing as exempt of the guard. ‘Madame, you are mine at
last!’
The words had been the signal to those without, whom he had left
the room to put upon their guard. As he pronounced
them, they rushed into the room, and the Marchioness found herself
surrounded by the archers of the royal guard.
In an instant Marie perceived the trap that had been laid for her.
‘Miscreant!’ she cried, as she rushed at Desgrais in her rage. ‘You
have not yet got your prey within your fangs. I am in a country in
which your authority goes for nought. You cannot arrest me.’
‘Once more, you must pardon me, Madame la Marquise,’ replied
Desgrais, as he drew a paper from his belt. ‘The council of this town
has authorised your extradition, upon a letter from the King. You are
as much our prisoner as though we had arrested you in your own
hôtel in Paris.’
As quick as lightning, upon comprehending the meaning of the
words, Marie drew a poniard from its sheath at the side of one of the
guards, and endeavoured to plunge it into her breast. But her hand
was arrested by another of the party, and the weapon wrested from
her. Baffled in this intention, and in an agony of powerless rage, she
endeavoured to speak, but her mouth refused utterance to the
words, and with a terrible cry she fell senseless upon the ground.
Confiding her to the care of one of his men, and ordering the
others to keep guard without, Desgrais now returned to the convent
in search of further evidence, furnished with proper authority to bring
away whatever he could find. But Marie had little with her. A small
case of letters and papers was, however, discovered under her
pillow, and of this Desgrais immediately took possession. It
contained most important evidence against her—no less than a
confession of the past actions of her life.
In the meantime Marie gradually recovered; but it was some time
before she came completely to herself, from a succession of fainting-
fits supervening one upon another as the least degree of
consciousness returned, and the dreadful reality of her position
broke in upon her. The rough soldier with whom she had been left,
unused to guard such prisoners, and somewhat struck with her
beauty and evidently superior position in life, had been in great
confusion of ideas as to what he ought to do, and had at last called
one of the females attached to the establishment to the aid of the
Marchioness. By some of those trifling remedies which women only
appear to have at command for their own sex, in the like
emergencies, Marie was gradually brought round, and then the
female departed, and she was left alone with her guard—pale and