A client is to receive 125 mL of IV fluids every hour. If the drop factor is 10 gtt/mL, how many drops per minute will the nurse administer?

To determine the number of drops per minute that the nurse will administer, it is essential to first calculate the flow rate in mL per minute based on the client's IV fluid requirement. The client needs 125 mL per hour. Since there are 60 minutes in an hour, the flow rate in mL/minute can be calculated by dividing the total hourly volume by the number of minutes in an hour:

125 mL/hour ÷ 60 minutes/hour = 2.0833 mL/minute.

Next, to find out the drop rate in drops per minute, this flow rate needs to be multiplied by the drop factor. The drop factor is given as 10 gtt/mL (gtt standing for drops). Therefore, the calculation becomes:

2.0833 mL/minute × 10 gtt/mL = 20.833 gtt/minute.

When rounding 20.833 to the nearest whole number, it commonly rounds up to 21 drops per minute.

Thus, selecting the choice corresponding to this calculation confirms that the nurse will administer approximately 21 drops per minute, aligning it with the calculated result.