AJ was prescribed an antibiotic that must be taken as one tablet every 8 hours. Following the instructions, he took the first tablet at 2 pm on Monday and took the last tablet three days later, on Thursday at 2 pm. How many tablets of antibiotic did AJ take?

When it comes to managing medications, understanding how to calculate dosages is essential to ensure safe and effective use. The problem of figuring out how many tablets AJ should take is a practical example of dosage calculation. The general principle involves determining the total quantity of medication required over a given period, based on how frequently the medication needs to be taken.

In AJ's case, the prescription states one tablet every 8 hours. To solve this, we start by finding out the total time AJ needs to be on medication. Here, it extended from Monday at 2 pm to Thursday at 2 pm. Understanding the timeline is crucial because it tells us how many doses AJ will need. We multiply the number of complete days (3) by 24 hours to get a total hour count.

With the total number of hours known, next is to divide by the frequency, in hours, that the medication is taken (every 8 hours). This step gives us the number of doses. But often, we must consider the initial dose taken at the start of the regimen that may not fit neatly into our interval count, which is an additional consideration in dosage calculations.

Time interval calculation involves working out the duration between two events. For AJ's medication schedule, we calculate the time interval to understand how many doses fit within the timeframe. This is crucial for all kinds of scheduling or planning scenarios.

To calculate the time interval, identify the start and end points (Monday 2 pm to Thursday 2 pm), and quantify each complete day in hours. We then divide the total hours by the dosage interval (8 hours) to determine how many times AJ will take his medication. It’s also necessary to add the starting point manually if it does not align with the regular intervals, which in this case, is the initial dose on Monday.

Remember to consider the units of time when calculating time intervals for dosage. Whether you're dealing with hours, minutes, or days, consistency in units is key to obtaining the right answer.

Arithmetic operations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, are foundational for solving math word problems, including those in GED exams. In our example with AJ's medication, we applied multiplication to find the total hours from days, division to calculate the number of 8-hour intervals, and addition to add the first tablet to the total dose count.

In this step-by-step problem-solving process, the arithmetic operations are applied systematically to reach the solution. Mastery of these operations not only helps in solving dosage calculations but is also a vital skill in everyday life applications. Always perform each operation with care and check your work to ensure accuracy, as even a small error can lead to incorrect results in medication management and beyond.