When a doctor prescribes 2000 IU of medication and the vial contains 1000 IU/mL, how much should be administered?

To determine the correct dosage to administer, you need to calculate how many milliliters are required to achieve the prescribed dosage of 2000 IU when the medication concentration is 1000 IU per milliliter.

Start by setting up a proportion based on the concentration of the medication. The vial contains 1000 IU in 1 mL. To find out how many milliliters are needed for 2000 IU, you can set up the equation:

Amount needed (mL) = Desired Dose (IU) / Concentration (IU/mL)

Plugging in the numbers:

Amount needed (mL) = 2000 IU / (1000 IU/mL)

This simplifies to:

Amount needed (mL) = 2 mL

Thus, to administer 2000 IU, you must give 2 mL of the medication. This is why the correct answer is the amount of 2 mL, which matches with the choice confirming it as the right dosage. Understanding this calculation is fundamental for safe medication administration.