Which combination of drinks has approximately equal alcohol content?

The choice that includes 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, and 1½ ounces of hard liquor represents a combination of drinks that together have approximately equal alcohol content.

To understand this, it's important to know the standard drink equivalents often used for measuring alcohol intake. A standard drink in the U.S. typically contains about 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol.

• For beer, a standard serving is typically 12 ounces with around 5% alcohol by volume (ABV), which means 12 ounces of beer has approximately 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol.

• For wine, a standard serving is approximately 5 ounces with around 12% ABV, contributing roughly 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol for the 5 ounces in this case.

• For distilled spirits or hard liquor, 1.5 ounces (which is a common serving size) at around 40% ABV also gives about 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol.

By simply assessing the amounts, we find that each of the beverages contributes around 0.6 ounces of alcohol, leading to a total of about 1.8 ounces of pure alcohol combined from these drinks, making this combination balanced in terms of alcohol