An athlete has lost 5 pounds (~2.2 kg) during the course of a practice. How much fluid must the athlete consume in order to return to normal hydration status?

To return to normal hydration status after losing 5 pounds, the athlete needs to understand the relationship between weight loss and fluid loss. One pound of body weight loss is roughly equivalent to 16 ounces (approximately 0.5 liters) of fluid. Therefore, if the athlete has lost 5 pounds during practice, the total fluid loss can be calculated by multiplying the weight loss in pounds by the number of ounces per pound.

Calculating this gives:

5 pounds x 16 ounces/pound = 80 ounces.

However, it's important to note that to rehydrate effectively and ensure that the fluid is adequately replaced, a good rule of thumb is to consume 1.5 times the amount of fluid lost. This accounts for the need to replace not just the lost fluid, but also to compensate for potential ongoing sweat loss during rehydration afterward.

Thus, multiplying the fluid loss by 1.5 results in:

80 ounces x 1.5 = 120 ounces.

This means 120 ounces is necessary for the athlete to adequately replace the lost fluid and restore hydration status. This makes the selected answer correct, reflecting the proper amount of fluid needed to return to an optimal hydration level after significant sweat losses during practice.