Problem on Mixture

[seema19]

In what ratio should freely available water be mixed with wine worth Rs. 60/- per liter so that after selling the mixture at Rs. 50/- per liter, the profit will be 25%?

A) 1:2
B) 2:3
C) 3:4
D) 4:5
E) 5:6

Answer: A

[user123321]

IMO A

lets say initially there is 1 liter pure wine whose worth is 60 Rs.

given, worth of a liter of mixture = 50 Rs with 25% percent profit
so mixture's actual worth will be 50/1.25 = 40 Rs

amount of mixture with 1 liter pure wine is 60/40 = 1.5 litre
=>in 1.5 liters of mixture we have 1 liter wine & 0.5 liter
so the ratio is 1:0.5 = 2:1

user123321

[GmatMathPro]

If we want to make a 25% profit by selling at 50, then we need to sell at x where 1.25x=50 or x=40. The pure wine is worth 60/liter and the water is worth 0/liter. We need to blend them to make it worth 40/liter.

0--------------------40----------60

We start with pure wine that is 60/liter. As we add water that is worth 0/liter, the overall price moves from 60 toward 0. In this case we want the overall price to be 40, which is 1/3 of the way from 60 to 0, so the mixture should be 1/3 water, which means it should be 2/3 wine, which means the water to wine ratio should be 1:2. This should make sense because a 50/50 split would put the overall price right in the middle of 0 and 60, or 30. The price we want is closer to 60, which means the mixture should have more wine.

[shankar.ashwin]

I prefer using allegation here,

50@ 25% profit, so mixtures actual worth is 40.

Now 0 and 60 are mixed to form 40.

Using allegations, ratio water and wine should be mixed is (60-40)/(40-0) = 20/40 = 1/2 A

[Abhishek009]

In what ratio should freely available water be mixed with wine worth Rs. 60/- per liter so that after selling the mixture at Rs. 50/- per liter, the profit will be 25%?

A) 1:2
B) 2:3
C) 3:4
D) 4:5
E) 5:6

Answer: A

Rs 50 represents the selling price after the profit ...

So , If Selling price is 125 ( Including 25% profit ) , Cp is 100

If Selling price is 1 , Cp is 100/125

If Selling price is 50 , Cp is ( 100/125 ) *50 = Rs 40


There is a shortcut trick also , if Profit is ( 25% ) 1/4 , Cost price will be 4 / (1+4) times the selling Price...

In fact U can make this as a thumb rule as well , if Profit given is as a / b , and selling price is given S and U wanna find the CP , just use the formula -

CP = b / ( a + b ) * SP


So , Cp = 4 / 5 * 50 => 40


Now we must find a solution very very quickly...


Use shankkar Ashwin's formula and it will come down within 30 seconds..

[GMATGuruNY]

In what ratio should freely available water be mixed with wine worth Rs. 60/- per liter so that after selling the mixture at Rs. 50/- per liter, the profit will be 25%?

A) 1:2
B) 2:3
C) 3:4
D) 4:5
E) 5:6

Answer: A

Another efficient approach would be to plug in the answers.

Answer choice C: 3 liters of water for 4 liters of wine.
Cost of 4 liters of wine = 4*60 = 240.
Selling price of the 7 liter mixture = 7*50 = 350.
Profit = 350-240 = 110.
Since (.25)240 = 60, the profit is almost DOUBLE what is required.
To decrease the profit by almost 50%, the proportion of wine in the mixture must increase SUBSTANTIALLY.
The correct answer is almost surely A.

Answer choice A: 1 liter of water for 2 liters of wine.
Cost of 2 liters of wine = 2*60 = 120.
Selling price of the 3 liter mixture = 3*50 = 150.
Profit = 150-120 = 30, a profit of 25%:
.25(120) = 30.

The correct answer is A.