6. Nurse A is responsible for 1/4 of the patients on the floor. If Nurse B takes 1/2 of Nurse A's patients, what fraction of the total patients on the floor are Nurse B's responsibility?
Answer: B
Nurse B is responsible for 1/8 of the total patients on the floor.
Nurse A is responsible for 1/4 of the patients, and if Nurse B takes 1/2 of Nurse A's patients, Nurse B will have 1/2 of 1/4, which simplifies to 1/8 of the total patients on the floor.
A) 3/4
This option is incorrect because it suggests that Nurse B is responsible for the majority of the patients. Given that Nurse A only has 1/4 of the patients and Nurse B takes only a portion of that, it is not possible for Nurse B to have 3/4 responsibility.
B) 1/8
This option is correct as it accurately reflects that Nurse B takes 1/2 of Nurse A's 1/4 of the patients. Therefore, Nurse B's responsibility amounts to 1/8 of the total patients on the floor.
C) 1/6
This option is incorrect because it does not represent the correct fraction of the total patients. Since Nurse B only has 1/8 of the patients, 1/6 is not a viable fraction based on the given information.
D) 1/4
This option is incorrect as it implies that Nurse B has the same number of patients as Nurse A. Since Nurse B only takes half of Nurse A's patients, this does not hold true.
Conclusion
Nurse B's responsibility for 1/8 of the total patients is derived from taking half of Nurse A's patients, which amounts to a correct calculation based on their respective patient loads. All other options fail to accurately reflect the division of patient responsibility based on the information given, confirming that 1/8 is indeed the only correct answer.