BTGmoderatorDC wrote:A dessert recipe calls for 50% melted chocolate and 50% raspberry puree to make a particular sauce. A chef accidentally makes 15 cups of the sauce with 40% melted chocolate and 60% raspberry puree instead. How many cups of the sauce does he need to remove and replace with pure melted chocolate to make the sauce the proper 50% of each?
A. 1.5
B. 2.5
C. 3
D. 4.5
E. 5
Chocolate percentage in the incorrect sauce: 40%.
Chocolate percentage in the pure chocolate: 100%.
Chocolate percentage in the mixture: 50%.
Let I = the incorrect sauce and C = the pure chocolate.
The following approach is called ALLIGATION -- a very efficient way to handle MIXTURE PROBLEMS.
Step 1: Plot the 3 percentages on a number line, with the percentages for I and C on the ends and the percentage for the mixture in the middle.
I 40%----------50%-----------100% C
Step 2: Calculate the distances between the percentages.
I 40%----
10----50%----
50-----100% C
Step 3: Determine the ratio in the mixture.
The ratio of I to C is equal to the RECIPROCAL of the distances in red.
I:C = 50:10 = 5:1.
Since I:C = (5 cups) : (1 cup), 1 of every 6 cups must be pure chocolate.
Thus:
Pure chocolate = (1/6)(15 cups) = 15/6 = 5/2 = 2.5 cups.
The correct answer is
B.
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