Free resources · Dosage calculations
Tablets and capsules
How many tablets to give when the ordered dose and the tablet strength differ.
Worked example: learn the method
Ungraded teaching example with different numbers from the practice exercise. For study only, not clinical use.
An order reads 62.5 mg. The medication is available as 25 mg tablets. How many tablets supply the ordered dose?
Desired dose ÷ dose on hand = number of tablets
- Identify what you want: Desired = 62.5 mg
- Identify what you have: On hand = 25 mg per tablet
- Divide: 62.5 mg ÷ 25 mg/tablet = 2.5 tablets
- Units cancel: mg ÷ (mg/tablet) leaves tablets — the unit you were asked for.
Example result: 2.5 tablets. Give a whole or half tablet — round to one decimal place.
Common mistake to avoid: Match the ordered dose unit to the strength unit before dividing. The result is a number of tablets, not milligrams.
Dosage formulas · Unit conversion reference
Problem
An order reads 125 mg. The medication is available as 50 mg tablets. How many tablets supply the ordered dose?
Give a whole or half tablet — round to one decimal place.
These are practice problems for exam preparation. Every number in them is generated by CARE for teaching purposes — nothing here is a real order and nothing here is a clinical dosing tool. Do not use this page to work out a dose for a real patient: use your facility's policy, the actual order, and an independent double-check where your policy requires one.
Medication calculations also appear inside real exam practice, mixed with everything else and scored the same way. Try a free quiz drawn from the actual question bank.
Free quiz →