WELCOME – FUTURE PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS –
As you might imagine math/science skills are a vital part of the practice of medicine
and as such we at Lock Haven University would like to be assured that your basic
knowledge of those skills is sound. Please take the opportunity to review the
following concepts, take the self - study quiz and prepare yourself for the math quiz
to be given the first week (not as hard as this one and you can take as many times as
needed to pass.)
Key Math/Science Concepts
A. Basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, division.
B. Scientific notation conversion, Logarithms
C. Metric conversion – mass, volume, distance, time, temperature
D. Dimensional analysis
E. Algebraic manipulation
F. Basic Statistics
G. Medication dosage calculations
Self Assessment Quiz:
CASE 1.
Johnny, a 2 y/o, 22 lb. male, has seen you for an ear infection. Temp today is 104 F
rectally. You have chosen Amoxicillin, an antibiotic, to clear this infection. The
dosage is 80 mg/kg/day. You want to divide the dose to be given BID (2X/day) and
want a full ten (10) days to be given. (Amoxicillin is supplied as 125mg 200mg,
250mg, 400mg, or 500mg all per 5 ml.) Mother only has a teaspoon measuring
device.
1. Your order should read
a. Amoxicillin 125mg/5ml one tsp by mouth 3x day
b. Amoxicillin 200mg/5ml 2 tsps by mouth with breakfast
c. Amoxicillin 400 mg/5ml one tsp every 12 hours
d. Amoxicillin 500mg/5ml 4/5 tsp every 12 hours
2. How many mls of the above should you tell the pharmacist to dispense for the
full course?
a. Enough
b. 50 ml
c. 100 ml
d. 200 ml
e. 6 ozs.
3. The Tylenol bottle states -give when temp is greater than 39 C. What is Johnny’s
temp in centigrade?
a. 52 degrees C
b. 40 degrees C
c. 32 degrees C
d. 38.6 degrees C
CASE 2.
Myra, a 68 y/o women, has just admitted to the hospital for dehydration. Her
baseline weight is 220 lbs but today her weight is 202 lbs. You have decided to start
IV hydration with 0.9% Sodium Chloride (normal saline). You have calculated that
she will need 250 ml/hour for the first 8 hours then you will switch the rate to 150
ml/hour for the rest of the first day. The IV Macro drip system has a drip volume of
15 drops/ml ( 15 drops in each ml).
4. Calculate the total volume of fluid Myra will receive in the first 24 hours of her
hospital stay.
5. How many drops per minute should the nurse set the IV drip to deliver during
the first 8 hours?
6. How many drops per minute should this IV drip deliver in the remaining 16
hours?
7. What is Myra’s % loss in body weight ?
8. If you were required (in a crisis) to make up your Normal Saline and had a beaker
that held 2 liters of fluid, how would you proceed (given abundant amounts NaCl
and sterile water)?
CASE 3.
Peter, a 24 y/o, presents for a Pre-employment physical examination. His urinalysis
showed pH 6.0; Glucose was positive. You do a Blood glucose level and it showed a
level of 360 mg% (abnormal).
9. Regarding the pH. The H+ ion concentration is:
a. 1,000,000 H+ ions/liter of urine
b. 6,000,000 H+ ions/liter of urine
c. 0.000001 H+ ions/liter of urine
d. 0.0000001 H+ ions/liter of urine
e. 0.000006 H+ ions/ liter of urine
10. Regarding this urine specimen the pH should be considered
a. Neutral
b. Acidic
c. Alkaline
d. Can not tell from the information given
11. What is the pOH of Peter’s urine?
a. 10-6
b. 8
c. 108
d. Can not tell from the information given
12. You are from the European Union and do not understand “mg%”. You have
worked in mmol/l all your life. You remember that the molecular weight of glucose
is 180 gms/mole. What is Peter’s glucose level in mmol/l?
a. 200 mmol/l
b. 2 mmol/l
c. 20 mmol/l
d. 18 mmol/l
13. You working in Somalia and have been asked by your physician to “brew up” 10
gallons of Glucose 5% & 0.45% NaCl for oral supplementation for use in the
dehydrated children. The United Nations has given you bulk glucose, table salt,
water purification system, scales and several 5 gallon buckets. What is your
response to this task??
a. Panic and ask to go home
b. Can’t do it with the supplies given
c. I’ll have it ready shortly
d. Can’t do without a periodic table
Describe in detail how would do this if you think you can??!!
14. We have just studied the GRE scores of the incoming 2014 class of PA’s and
have the following raw data:
1005 1101 1106 1096
1098 1000 1023 1123
1072 1125 1128 1078
1130 1072 1006 1072
1250 1099 1068 1157
1329 1234 1132 1167
1201 1320 1072 1006
Please Provide : Median, Mode, Mean, Range