PHARMACEUTICS I

Pharmaceutical Calculation
PHRM 210
Density
Density (d) is mass per unit volume of a substance. It usually
expressed as grams per cubic centimeter (g/cc).

Mass
Density =
Volume

Gram is defined as the mass of 1 cc of water at 4oC, so the

density of water is 1 g/cc.

According to USP, 1 mL may be used as the equivalent of 1 cc.

Therefore, The density of water may be expressed as 1 g/mL.
The weight of 1 mL of mercury is 13.6 g, hence, its density is
13.6 g/mL

If 25.0g of olive oil are required for a prescription, what volume

should be used? (Density of olive oil=0.910g/mL )

1 mL
25.0g x
0.910g

= 27.5 mL
Problems:
1. Calculate the weight of 120 ml of oil whose density is
0.9624g/ml. What will be the weight of 5 liter of that oil?

2. What is the volume of 2.0 kg of glycerin if the density of

glycerin is 1.25g/ml?
3. Find out the volume in liter of an oil whose density is
0.75g/ml and the total weight of that oil is given 20.5 kg.
Specific gravity
Specific gravity is the ratio, expressed decimally, of the weight
of a substance to the weight of an equal volume of a substance
chosen as a standard.

Weight of substance
Specific gravity =
Weight of equal volume of water

Water is used as the standard for the specific gravity of liquid

and solids. The most useful standard for gases is hydrogen,
although sometimes air is used.
Both substance should be at the same temperature or the
temperature of each being definitely known. According to
USP- the standard temperature for specific gravity is 25 0C.

At 25ºC and 1 atmosphere of pressure, one milliliter of

distilled water weighs one gram. Therefore, the specific
gravity of water is established as 1.

Weight of the substance

Specific gravity=
Weight of an equal volume of water

Because one milliliter of water weighs one gram:

Number of grams of the substance

Specific gravity=
Number of milliliters of the substance
Specific gravity of liquids

1. Known weight and volume:

Calculating the specific gravity of a liquid when its weight and

volume are known.

Problem: If 54.96ml of an oil weight 52.78g, what is the

specific gravity of the oil?

Answer:
54.96 ml of an oil weight 52.78 g
Specific gravity of oil =
52.78(g)/54.96(g) = 0.9603
Problem: If a pint of a certain liquid weights 601g, what is the
specific gravity of the liquid?

Answer:
1 pint = 473 ml
Specific gravity of liquid =
601(g)/ 473(g) = 1.27
2. Specific gravity bottle:

To calculate the specific gravity of a liquid by means of a

specific gravity bottle, the container is filled and weighed first
with water and then with liquid.

Problem: A specific gravity bottle weighs 23.66g. When filled

with water, it weights 72.95g, when filled with another liquid, it
weights 73.56g. What is the specific gravity of the liquid?

Answer:
73.56g – 23.66 g = 49.90 g of liquid
72.95g – 23.66 g = 49.29 g of water
Specific gravity of liquid =
49.90g / 49.29 g =1.012
3. Displacement or plummet method:

Calculating the specific gravity of a liquid determined by the

displacement or plummet method is based on the Archimedes’
principle.

Archimedes’ principle: A body immersed in a liquid

displaces an amount of the liquid equal to its own volume and
suffers an apparent loss in weight equal to the weight of the
displaced liquid.

Problem: A glass plummet weighs 12.64g in air, 8.57g when

immersed in water, and 9.12g when immersed in an oil. Calculate
the specific gravity of the oil.

Answer: 0.865
Specific gravity of solids

1. Solids heavier than and insoluble in water:

Weight of solid in air/weight of water that it displaces when
immersed in it.

Problem: A piece of glass weighs 38.525g in air and 23.525g

when immersed in water. What is its specific gravity?

Answer:
38.525g – 23.525g = 15g of displaced water (weight of an
equal volume of water).
Specific gravity of glass = 38.525g / 15g
= 2.568
 2. Solids heavier than and soluble in water:

The weights of equal volumes of any two substances are

proportional to their specific gravities.

Problem: A crystal of a chemical salt weighs 6.423g in air and

2.873g when immersed in an oil having a specific gravity of
0.858. What is the specific gravity of the salt?

Answer:
6.423g–2.873g = 3.550g of displaced oil.
Wt. of displaced oil/ Wt. of salt in air = Sp. gr. of oil / Sp. Gr. of
salt
Sp. Gr. of salt= (0.858 x 6.423) / 3.550 = 1.55
Specific volume
Specific volume is defined as an abstract number (has no
unit) representing the ratio of the volume of a substance to the
volume of an equal weight of another substance taken as a
standard in same temperature.

Water is standard for liquids and solids.

Problem: If 25g of glycerin measure 20ml and 25g of water

measure 25ml under the same conditions. What is the specific
volume of glycerin?

Answer:
The specific volume of the glycerin=
vol. of glycerin / vol. of water
= 20ml /25ml = 0.8
Problem: Calculate Specific
volume of a syrup, 91.0ml
of which weigh 107.16g.
Answer: 0.85
Percentage Calculations
The term percent and its corresponding sign (%)
mean “by the hundred” or “in a hundred”, and
percentage means “rate per hundred”.

Percent weight-in-volume (W/V):

W/V or Weight/Volume percent is defined as the
number of grams in 100 milliliters of solution or liquid
preparation.
Example: A 10 percent (w/v) potassium chloride
(KCl) elixir would contain 10 grams of potassium
chloride in every 100 milliliters of KCl elixir.
Percent volume-in-volume (V/V)
V/V percent or Volume/Volume percent is defined
as the number of milliliters in every 100 ml of solution
or liquid preparation.
Example: A 70% (v/v) alcoholic solution would
contain 70 milliliters of alcohol in every 100 ml of
solution.

Percent weight-in-weight (W/W)

W/W percent or Weight/Weight percent is defined
as the number of grams in 100 grams of a solid
preparation.
Example: A 5 percent (w/w) boric acid ointment
would contain 5 grams of boric acid in each 100 grams
of boric acid ointment.
Drug Concentrations Expressed As Percent(%)

Example:

Weight/Weight =
grams of solute 1 % = 1g of solute
100 g of prep. 100 g of solution

mL of solute 1 mL of solute
Volume/Volume = 1%=
100 mL 100 mL

grams of solute
Weight/Volume = 1 % = 1 g of solute
100 mL 100 mL
Dilution and concentration
Pharmacy personnel will often go to a stock solution to
obtain the amount of active ingredient that is needed to make
a preparation. This is especially true if the amount required is
so small that it cannot be accurately weighed on a torsion
balance. It is easier to measure an amount of stock solution
than to set up a balance, weigh the ingredients, and
compound the entire product.

The use of stock preparations is an important aspect of

pharmacy.
Formulas:
a. Volumes and weights must be expressed in the same units.
b. Concentrations must be expressed in the same units.

c. Formula: V C = V1 C1
(1) V = Volume of stock preparation
(2) C = Concentration of stock preparation
(3) V1 = Volume of desired preparation
(4) C1 = Concentration of desired preparation

d. Formula: W C = W1 C1
(1) W = Weight of stock preparation
(2) C = Concentration of stock preparation
(3) W1 = Weight of desired preparation
(4) C1 = Concentration of desired preparation
Problem: If a syrup containing 65% (w/v) of sucrose is
evaporated to 85% of its volume, what percent (w/v) of
sucrose will it contain?

Answer:
Let the volume of syrup 100ml.
100ml syrup evaporated to 85% of its volume, so we will have
85ml
85ml/100ml=65%/X%
X%= 76.47% or 76% (answer)
Problem: How many milliliters of water should be added to a
pint of a 5% (w/v) solution of boric acid to make a 2% (w/v)
solution?

Answer:
1pint = 473 ml
Therefore,
2%/5% = 473ml/ Xml
 X= 1182.5 ml
So water should be added (1182.5-473)ml= 709.5ml
(answer)
Problem: How many milliliters of a 1:200 silver nitrate
solution would be needed to make 2000 ml of a 1:4000
solution?

Answer:
V C = V1 C1
(X) ( 1/200 ) = (2000 ml) ( 1/4000 )
(X) (4000/200)=(2000ml) (4000/4000)
20 X = 2000 ml
X = 100 ml (answer)
Problem: How many milliliters of a 2% stock solution of
potassium permanganate (KMn04) would be needed to
compound 120 ml 0.2% solution of potassium permanganate ?

Answer
V C = V1 C1
(X) (2%) = (120 ml) (.02%)
2 X = 2.4
X = 1.2 ml (answer)
Problem: How many grams of 14% zinc oxide ointment can
be made from one pound of 20% zinc oxide ointment?

Answer:
1 pound = 454 gm
W C = W1 C1
(X) (14%) = (454 g) (20%)
14 X = 9080
X = 648.57grams (answer)
Problem: How many milliliters of 10% povidone-iodine solution
would be needed to make 4 liters of a 1:2000 povidone-iodine
solution?

Answer:
V C = V1 C1
(X) (10%) = (4 L) ( 1/2000 )
Change 4 liters to milliliters
Change 10% to a ratio by placing the 10 over 100.
(X) (10/100) = (4000 ml) ( 1/2000 )
(X)(20,000/100)=(4000 ml)(2000/2000)
200 X = 4000 ml
X = 20 ml (answer)
Solve the Problems:
1. How many milliliters of a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution
would be needed to make 120 ml of 1% hydrogen peroxide
solution? How many milliliters of water should be added? [40ml
& 80ml]
2. The strength of real acetic acid is 33% (W/V). Using this,
prepare 200ml of a solution of acetic acid containing 4% (W/V)
of real acetic acid. [24.2ml]
3. Prepare 200 ml of a solution of ammonia containing 4% by
weight of ammonia. The strong solution of ammonia contains
32.5% of ammonia W/W. [24.62gm]
4. Prepare 400ml of a 5% solution and label with direction for
preparing 2 liter quantities of a 1 in 2000 solution. [20gm &
20ml up to 2 liter]
Alcohol dilution:

Problems: Prepare 400 ml of 45% alcohol from 95% alcohol.

Volume of stronger alcohol to be used=

400x45
95
= 189.47 ml
= 190 ml

190 ml of 95% alcohol is diluted with water to produce 400ml.

The strength of dilute alcohol will be 45%.
Solve the Problems:
1. Prepare 600 ml of 60% alcohol from 95% alcohol.
[378.95ml]
2. Prepare 500 ml of 40% alcohol from 95% alcohol. [210.52]
3. How much water should be mixed with 5000 ml of 85.5%
(V/V) alcohol to make 50% ( V/V) alcohol? [3550ml of water]
4. How many milliliters of water must be added to 5 gallons of
100% isopropyl alcohol to make a 70% dilute Isopropyl alcohol?
(1 gallon= 3785 ml)
5. How many milliliters of distilled water must be added to one
gallon of 100% Isopropyl Alcohol to make a 70% alcohol?
6. A 25% solution of ethyl alcohol may be used to bathe a small
child for the purpose of cooling and reducing fever. How many
milliliters of ethyl alcohol (95%) and how many milliliters of
distilled water must be combined to make two quarts of the
25% ethyl alcohol solution? (1 quart = 946 ml)
Compounding of same formula

Problem: How many grams of zinc oxide are needed to

make 240 grams of a 4% (w/w) zinc oxide ointment?

Answer:
IF 4 g ZnO THEN X g ZnO
=
100 g Oint 240 g Oint
 100 X = 960
 X = 9.6 g of zinc oxide
(answer)
 Problem: How many milliliters of a 5% (w/v) boric acid
solution can be made from 20 grams of boric acid?
Answer:

(answer)

Problem: How many milliliters of paraldehyde are needed

to make 120 ml of a 10% (v/v) paraldehyde solution?

Answer: 12ml
One percent Method:
Problem: How many grams of ephedrine sulfate are
needed to make 120 ml of a 2% (w/v) ephedrine sulfate
solution?
Answer:
1gm dissolved in 100ml = 1% w/v solution
2gm dissolved in 100ml = 2% w/v solution

For 120ml solution the quantity of ephedrine sulfate required-

2x120
= 2.4 gm of ephedrine sulfate needed.
100 (answer)
Problem: Prepare 500 ml of a 2 in 4000 solution of
potassium permanganate.

Answer: 50mg
Problem:
ml
Rx
KMnO4 0.02%
Distilled water qsad 240

How many grams of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) are

needed to compound the above prescription?

Answer: 0.048 grams

Problem: Prepare 150ml of 4% (W/V) potassium
permanganate and label the directions for preparing 500ml of
1 in 2500 solution.
Solve the Problems:
► If 5 g of a chemical is dissolved in enough water to make
the preparation measure one liter, what is the percentage
strength of the solution?
► How many milliliters of a 0.02% W/V solution can be made
from 2.5 g of a chemical?
► Normal saline solution contains 0.9% W/V NaCl. How
many grams of sodium chloride should be used to make 1.5
liters of normal saline?
► How many grams of strong silver protein (SSP) are
required to make 250 ml of a 0.25% (w/v) solution?
OVERAGE:
Overage means excess. Usually companies use certain
percent (within the specification limit) excess of active
ingredient in their preparation.
Problem:
Beximco uses raw material of paracetamol in which purity
of paracetamol is 94% for manufacturing Napa tablet (500mg
paracetamol). The batch size of Napa is 50,000 Tablets.
Calculate the amount of Raw Materials of Paracetamol to
produce a batch of NAPA.
If Beximco uses 3% overage then calculate the amount of
RM of paracetamol to manufacture a batch of NAPA.
"PARTS-PER" NOTATION
The parts-per notation is used in some areas of science
and engineering because it does not require conversion from
weights or volumes to more chemically relevant units such as
normality or molarity. It describes the amount of one substance
in another.

It is the ratio of the amount of the substance of interest to

the amount of that substance plus the amount of the
substance it is in.
Parts per hundred denotes the amount of a given
substance in a total amount of 100 regardless of the units of
measure as long as they are the same. e.g. 1 gram per 100
gram. 1 part in 102.
 Parts per thousand denotes the amount of a given
substance in a total amount of 1000 regardless of the units of
measure as long as they are the same. e.g. 1 milligram per
gram, or 1 gram per kilogram. 1 part in 103.

Parts per million ('ppm') denotes the amount of a given

substance in a total amount of 1,000,000 regardless of the
units of measure used as long as they are the same. e.g. 1
milligram per kilogram. 1 part in 106.

Problem: Calculate the quantity of Sodium Fluoride (NaF)

required for the preparation of 500ml of 2 ppm NaF aqueous
solution.
Answer- 0.001 gm
CALCULATION OF DOSES

Posology:

The word posology derived from Greek word ‘posos’,

meaning how much and ‘logos’, means science. That means
it is a branch of medical science which deals with doses or
quantity of drugs which can be administered to produce the
required pharmacological actions.

The term dose refers to the amount of medication that a

patient must take at one time to produce the optimum
therapeutic effect.
Calculation of child dose:
I. According to age:
a) Young’s formula:
Child's age in years
Child's dose = Child's age in years + 12 years X Adult dose

The above formula is used for calculating the doses for

children under 12 years of age.

Problem: The adult maintenance dose of a drug is 325 mg.

Calculate the dosage for a 3-year-old child.
Answer: 65mg
b) Dilling’s formula:
Child's age in years
Child's dose = 20 X Adult dose

Because of easy and quicker calculations, Dilling’s

formula is considered better.
Problem: If the adult dose is 60mg and the age of the child
is 6 years, what will be child’s dose?
Answer: 18mg
c) Fried's rule:
Child's age in months
Child's dose = 150 months X Adult dose

Problem: The adult dose of an antihistamine is 50 mg.

Calculate the dosage for a 2½ year-old child.
Answer: 10mg
Usually used for infant’s dose calculation.
II. According to body weight:
Clark's Rule:
Child's weight in lbs.
Child's dose = X Adult dose
150 lbs

Problem: The adult dose of Doxycycline is 100 mg.

Calculate the dosage for a child weighing 50 pounds.

Answer: 33.3 mg

III. According to body surface area:

Surface area of child
Child's dose = X Adult dose
Surface area of adult

The average body surface area for an adult = 1.73m2. Hence,

 Surface area of child
Child's dose = X Adult dose
1.73m2

Problem: Calculate the dosage for a child that has a body

surface area of 0.57 m2, when the adult dose of a drug is 50
mg.

Answer: 16.5 mg

Normality:
In chemistry, normality is a measure of concentration, it is
equal to the number of gram equivalents of a solute per liter of
solution.
It is denoted by N.

Gram equivalents
Normality =
Liters solution
 Atomic weight or molecular weight
Gram equivalents =
Valence
Problem: 5.30 gm of Na2CO3 was dissolved in water and
the volume made to 100ml. Calculate the normality of the
solution.
Answer:
Molecular weight of Na2CO3= 106
The equivalent weight of Na2CO3 is half the molecule
weight, i.e., 106/2= 53
100 ml solution contains 5.30 gm Na2CO3
Therefore,
1000 ml solution contains (5.30x10) gm
= 53 gm
Normality of the solution is 1
Molarity:
It defined as the presence of number of moles of solute in
1000ml or 1 litre of solution.
It is denoted by M.
Moles solute
Molarity =
Liters solution
Problem: 58.44 grams of NaCl dissolved in exactly 2 L of
solution. What would be the molarity of the solution?

Answer:
Molecular weight of NaCl is 58.44 grams/mol
58.44 grams
58.44 grams/mol =1mol
Then, dividing 1.00 mol by 2.00 L gives 0.500 mol/L (or 0.500
M).
Problem: Calculate the molarity of 25.0 grams of KBr
dissolved in 750.0 mL. Molecular weight of KBr is 119
grams/mol.
Answer: 0.28 M
Molality:
Molality denotes the number of moles of a given substance
per kilogram of solvent. (not solution)
It is denoted by m.
Moles solute
Molarity =
Kg Solvent