Question

As an alternative to ear tags and lip tattoos, tetracycline (an antibiotic) is used to mark polar bears. The advantages of using tetracycline in this fashion are that it leaves a detectable deposit on the bears’ teeth, it can be administered remotely, and using it doesn’t require that the animal be sedated. If 25 mg/kg is an effective dose, how much tetracycline is needed (in grams) to mark a 880 kg polar bear? Round your answer to two significant figures.

Answer 1

Answer: The amount of tetracycline needed for 880 kg of polar bear is 22. grams

Explanation:

We are given:

Effective dose of tetracycline needed = 25 mg/kg = 0.025 g/kg    (Conversion factor:  1 g = 1000 mg)

Mass of the polar bear = 880 kg

Applying unitary method:

For 1 kg of mass, the amount of tetracycline needed is 0.025 grams

So, for 880 kg of mass, the amount of tetracycline needed will be = $\frac{0.025g}{1kg}\times 880kg=22.g$

Hence, the amount of tetracycline needed for 880 kg of polar bear is 22. grams