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Example

Solving a Proportion Application: Calories in a Larger Beverage

Apply the proportion-solving strategy to determine the calorie content of a differently sized beverage.

Problem: A 16-ounce iced caramel macchiato has 230 calories. How many calories are there in a 24-ounce iced caramel macchiato?

  1. Identify what to find and assign a variable: How many calories are in the 24-ounce drink? Let cc = calories in 24 ounces.
  2. Translate into a proportion, keeping units consistent — calories over ounces equals calories over ounces:

23016=c24\frac{230}{16} = \frac{c}{24}

  1. Solve by multiplying both sides by the LCD, which is 4848:

4823016=48c2448 \cdot \frac{230}{16} = 48 \cdot \frac{c}{24}

Remove common factors on each side. On the left, 4816=3\frac{48}{16} = 3, so the left side becomes 3230=6903 \cdot 230 = 690. On the right, 4824=2\frac{48}{24} = 2, so the right side becomes 2c2c:

690=2c690 = 2c

Divide both sides by 22:

345=c345 = c

  1. Check reasonableness: 345 calories for a 24-ounce drink is more than 230 calories for a 16-ounce drink, but not excessively so — this is consistent with a proportional increase in size.
  2. Verify by substituting c=345c = 345 back into the original proportion:

23016=34524\frac{230}{16} = \frac{345}{24}

1158=1158\frac{115}{8} = \frac{115}{8}

Answer: There are 345 calories in a 24-ounce iced caramel macchiato.

Like the medication dosage problem, this example reinforces the importance of setting up the proportion with matching units on each side (calories over ounces). The LCD of 48 is found from the denominators 16 and 24, and after clearing fractions the equation reduces to a straightforward division.

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Updated 2026-04-21

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