Mathematics in Nursing: Applied Exercises
Question Bank
Set 1
1. A patient’s prescription says: ‘Take II tablets twice daily.’
(a) Convert the Roman numerals to Arabic numerals.
(b)How many tablets will the patient take in 5 days?
(c) If the patient misses one dose on day 3, how many tablets will they
take in total?
(d)If the doctor increases the dose to III tablets twice daily, how many
tablets will they take in 5 days?
2. A vial contains 25.5 mL of medicine. A nurse withdraws 8.75 mL for a
patient.
(a) How much is left in the vial?
(b)If the medicine expires after 3 more doses of the same amount, how
much will remain after the second dose?
(c) How much medicine will remain after all 3 remaining doses?
(d)If the nurse accidentally withdraws 10 mL instead of 8.75 mL, how
much will remain in the vial?
3. A patient’s daily meal plan allows 2/3 of their calories from
carbohydrates. If the patient requires 1800 kcal/day,
(a) How many kcal will come from carbohydrates?
(b)If each gram of carbohydrate provides 4 kcal, how many grams will
they eat?
(c) If the patient reduces carbohydrate intake to 1/2 of total calories, how
many kcal will come from carbohydrates?
(d)How many grams of carbohydrate would this reduced amount
represent?
4. A nurse sets an IV drip where 300 mL saline is infused over 2 hours.
(a) What is the ratio of volume to time in mL/hour?
(b)If the same rate is used for a 500 mL infusion, how long will it take?
(c) If the nurse doubles the rate, how long will it take to infuse 500 mL?
(d)If 150 mL remains after 1 hour, what was the actual infusion rate in
mL/hour?
5. A patient weighs 80 kg. They are advised to lose 12.5% of their weight.
(a) How many kilograms must they lose?
(b)What will their weight be after losing that amount?
(c) If the patient loses 5 more kilograms after that, what percentage of the
original weight have they lost in total?
(d)If their target is a 20% weight loss, how many kilograms more do they
need to lose from their current weight?
6. The doctor prescribes 150 mg of a drug. The available solution is 250
mg in 5 mL.
(a) Using proportion, find the volume (mL) needed for the dose.
(b)If the doctor prescribes 300 mg instead, how many mL will be needed?
(c) If the nurse accidentally gives 6 mL, how many mg of the drug did the
patient receive?
(d)What fraction of the prescribed 150 mg dose does this represent?
7. The hospital has wards numbered: XV, XXII, and XXIX.
(a) Convert these to Arabic numerals.
(b)Which ward has the highest number?
(c) If ward XXIX gains 5 more beds, what is its new ward number in Arabic
numerals?
(d)Convert the new number back to Roman numerals.
8. A nurse needs to draw 0.75 L of IV fluid but the measuring cylinder is in
mL.
(a) Convert the volume to mL.
(b)If the patient receives 250 mL immediately, how much will remain?
(c) If the nurse gives 125 mL every 30 minutes, how long will it take to
finish the remaining fluid?
(d)If another 0.5 L is added to the IV, what is the total volume in mL?
9. A hospital has 4 nurses caring for 12 patients in the morning shift.
(a) Write the nurse-to-patient ratio in simplest form.
(b)If 2 more nurses join the shift, what is the new ratio?
(c) If 6 more patients are admitted, what will be the new nurse-to-patient
ratio with the 6 nurses?
(d)How many patients would need to leave to return the ratio to 1:3?
10. During a ward check, 18 out of 120 patients had elevated blood
pressure.
(a) What percentage of patients had elevated BP?
(b)If the hospital aims to reduce this rate by 50%, what percentage
should they target?
(c) How many patients should have elevated BP to meet the target?
(d)If 10 more patients develop elevated BP, what will be the new
percentage?
Set 2
1. A patient’s prescription says: ‘Take III tablets three times daily.’
(a) Convert the Roman numerals to Arabic numerals.
(b)How many tablets will the patient take in 4 days?
(c) If the patient misses one dose on day 2, how many tablets will they
take in total?
(d)If the doctor increases the dose to IV tablets three times daily, how
many tablets will they take in 4 days?
2. A vial contains 30.0 mL of medicine. A nurse withdraws 7.5 mL for a
patient.
(a) How much is left in the vial?
(b)If the medicine expires after 4 more doses of the same amount, how
much will remain after the second dose?
(c) How much medicine will remain after all 4 remaining doses?
(d)If the nurse accidentally withdraws 10 mL instead of 7.5 mL, how much
will remain in the vial?
3. A patient’s daily meal plan allows 3/4 of their calories from
carbohydrates. If the patient requires 2000 kcal/day,
(a) How many kcal will come from carbohydrates?
(b)If each gram of carbohydrate provides 4 kcal, how many grams will
they eat?
(c) If the patient reduces carbohydrate intake to 2/3 of total calories, how
many kcal will come from carbohydrates?
(d)How many grams of carbohydrate would this reduced amount
represent?
4. A nurse sets an IV drip where 400 mL saline is infused over 4 hours.
(a) What is the ratio of volume to time in mL/hour?
(b)If the same rate is used for a 600 mL infusion, how long will it take?
(c) If the nurse doubles the rate, how long will it take to infuse 600 mL?
(d)If 200 mL remains after 1 hour, what was the actual infusion rate in
mL/hour?
5. A patient weighs 90 kg. They are advised to lose 15% of their weight.
(a) How many kilograms must they lose?
(b)What will their weight be after losing that amount?
(c) If the patient loses 5 more kilograms after that, what percentage of the
original weight have they lost in total?
(d)If their target is a 25% weight loss, how many kilograms more do they
need to lose from their current weight?
6. The doctor prescribes 200 mg of a drug. The available solution is 400
mg in 8 mL.
(a) Using proportion, find the volume (mL) needed for the dose.
(b)If the doctor prescribes 350 mg instead, how many mL will be needed?
(c) If the nurse accidentally gives 9 mL, how many mg of the drug did the
patient receive?
(d)What fraction of the prescribed 200 mg dose does this represent?
7. The hospital has wards numbered: XII, XX, and XXVII.
(a) Convert these to Arabic numerals.
(b)Which ward has the highest number?
(c) If ward XXVII gains 3 more beds, what is its new ward number in Arabic
numerals?
(d)Convert the new number back to Roman numerals.
8. A nurse needs to draw 1.2 L of IV fluid but the measuring cylinder is in
mL.
(a) Convert the volume to mL.
(b)If the patient receives 400 mL immediately, how much will remain?
(c) If the nurse gives 200 mL every 30 minutes, how long will it take to
finish the remaining fluid?
(d)If another 0.6 L is added to the IV, what is the total volume in mL?
9. A hospital has 5 nurses caring for 15 patients in the morning shift.
(a) Write the nurse-to-patient ratio in simplest form.
(b)If 3 more nurses join the shift, what is the new ratio?
(c) If 5 more patients are admitted, what will be the new nurse-to-patient
ratio with the 8 nurses?
(d)How many patients would need to leave to return the ratio to 1:3?
10. Monitoring During a ward check, 24 out of 160 patients had
elevated blood pressure.
(a) What percentage of patients had elevated BP?
(b)If the hospital aims to reduce this rate by 50%, what percentage
should they target?
(c) How many patients should have elevated BP to meet the target?
(d)If 15 more patients develop elevated BP, what will be the new
percentage?
Sets 3, 4, and 5 will follow the same pattern with different numbers for
Roman numerals, doses, percentages, ratios, and volumes to create
varied practice sets.