Preparing for the PTCE (Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam) exam? Calculations is one of the areas our deck drills hardest: 110 of its 1000 flashcards focus on calculations. Try the sample questions below — every card is a real question-and-answer pair from the full deck.
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A parent is instructed to give a child 1.5 teaspoons of amoxicillin suspension three times daily for 10 days. How many total milliliters (mL) should the pharmacy technician dispense for the full course?
Show answer →Answer: 225 mL. Rationale: 1. Convert teaspoons to mL: 1 teaspoon (tsp) = 5 mL. Therefore, 1.5 tsp = 7.5 mL per dose. 2. Calculate daily volume: 7.5 mL/dose × 3 doses/day = 22.5 mL/day. 3. Calculate total volume: 22.5 mL/day × 10 days = 225 mL. Exam Strategy: The PTCB emphasizes standard household-to-metric conversions. Always remember: 1 tsp = 5 mL and 1 tbsp = 15 mL. A common distractor is confusing teaspoons with tablespoons (1.5 tbsp would be 22.5 mL per dose). Always double-check the unit requested (mL) versus the unit provided (tsp).
An infant weighing 22 lbs is prescribed a medication at 10 mg/kg. The medication is available as a 100 mg/5 mL suspension. How many milliliters (mL) are required for one dose?
Show answer →Step 1: Convert weight to kg. 22 lbs / 2.2 = 10 kg. Step 2: Calculate mg dose. 10 kg × 10 mg/kg = 100 mg. Step 3: Convert mg to mL using the concentration. (100 mg / 100 mg) × 5 mL = 5 mL. Rationale: This is a three-step calculation (lb to kg -> mg dose -> mL volume). Using the ratio-proportion method: 100mg/5mL = 100mg/X mL; X = 5 mL. Exam Strategy: Ensure you don't stop after calculating the mg. If the question asks for mL, you must use the concentration provided.
The lower limit for refrigerated vaccine storage is 36°F. Calculate this value in Celsius to one decimal place.
Show answer →Answer: 2.2°C Steps: 1. C = (F - 32) ÷ 1.8 2. 36 - 32 = 4 3. 4 ÷ 1.8 = 2.222... Exam Tip: When the PTCE asks for a specific decimal place, round according to standard rules (0.5 and up rounds up). Monitoring the Cold Chain is a critical technician duty. Temperature excursions below 2°C (36°F) can freeze and deactivate certain vaccines, like the HepB or DTaP series.
A pharmacy technician needs to prepare 1 liter of a 1:200 strength solution. The pharmacy has 1:50 and 1:500 solutions in stock. How many mL of the 1:50 solution are required?
Show answer →1. Convert ratios to percentages: 1:50 = 2%; 1:500 = 0.2%; 1:200 = 0.5%. 2. Tic-Tac-Toe: High (2), Low (0.2), Target (0.5). 3. Parts of 2%: 0.5 - 0.2 = 0.3 parts. 4. Parts of 0.2%: 2 - 0.5 = 1.5 parts. 5. Total parts: 0.3 + 1.5 = 1.8. 6. Volume of 2% (1:50): (0.3 / 1.8) * 1000 mL = 166.67 mL. PTCB Tip: Ratio strength is a high-level distractor. Always convert to percentages (100 / denominator) before starting the Tic-Tac-Toe grid to avoid calculation errors with fractions.
A 500 mL bag of D5NS has 180 mL remaining. It is infusing at 25 gtt/min with a drop factor of 10 gtt/mL. How many hours and minutes remain?
Show answer →1. Determine rate in mL/min: 25 gtt/min / 10 gtt/mL = 2.5 mL/min. 2. Determine rate in mL/hr: 2.5 mL/min × 60 min = 150 mL/hr. 3. Calculate time: 180 mL / 150 mL/hr = 1.2 hours. 4. Convert decimal to minutes: 0.2 hours × 60 min = 12 minutes. Result: 1 hour and 12 minutes. Clinical Pearl: Always use the volume *remaining* for these questions, not the total bag size. PTCB uses these distractors frequently.
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Try 30 free PTCE cards firstThe full PTCE deck contains 1000 flashcards, and 110 of them focus on calculations. This page shows 5 free samples.
Our PTCE deck dedicates 110 of 1000 cards (11%) to calculations — always cross-check the official PTCB exam outline for the current blueprint weighting.
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