What numerical values represent valid concentrations?

Concentration will always be a number on the range from 0% - 100% (0.0 - 1.0 in
decimal form).
A concentration of 0% (0.0) represents the absence of any solute. We can, if we wish,
refer to pure water as a 0% concentration of salt in water!
On the other hand, a 100% solution represents pure solute (no solvent). A 100%
solution of ethyl alcohol is pure (undiluted) ethyl alcohol.
Our calculational formulas still hold in these extreme cases: if we have 13 oz. of a
100% solution of anti-freeze, the amount of anti-freeze is given by (1.0)(13) = 13 oz.
of anti-freeze (naturally!). On the other hand, 13 oz. of a 0% solution of anti-freeze
contains (0.0)(13) = 0 oz. of anti-freeze (naturally!).

0Tea Blend: Price of Inferior Tea

Date: 6/24/96 at 7:20:39
From: Anonymous
Subject: Tea Blend: Price of Inferior Tea
6kg of inferior quality tea are mixed with 3kg of high quality tea
which costs $2.00 per kilogram more than the inferior tea. The total
price of the mixture is $24.00. What is the price of the inferior tea?
I started with the formula : x + x+2 = 24 but could not go further.
--6
3
Can you let me know how to determine the correct formulae to use?
I don't have a problem with using algebra; the difficulty I am
experiencing is how to work out the formula required to solve
the problem.
Help!
Date: 6/24/96 at 8:17:40
From: Doctor Anthony
Subject: Re: Tea Blend: Price of Inferior Tea
Remember to define terms before you write down the equations.
I will let x = price per kg of the cheap tea
x+2 = price per kg of expensive tea

Total cost will be 6x + 3(x+2) = 24

6x + 3x + 6 = 24
9x = 18
x = 2
So cheap tea is $2 per kg.
-Doctor Anthony, The Math Forum
Check out our web site! http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Date: 6/26/96 at 10:38:8
From: Doctor Jerry
Subject: Re: Tea Blend: Price of Inferior Tea
If the total cost of the inferior tea is x dollars per kg, then the
total cost of the quality tea is (x+2) dollars. Then, 6 kg of the
inferior tea will have value 6x dollars (this is kg times dollars per
kg) and the 3 kg of quality tea has value 3(x+2) dollars. Total value
if 24 dollars. So 6x+3(x+2)=24. Solution is x=2 dollars.
In your equation, the units don't balance. On the left, you have kg
divided by kg. On the right, just dollars.
-Doctor Jerry, The Math Forum
Check out our web site! http://mathforum.org/dr.math/

Weighted Averages
Date: 11/30/2001 at 22:32:26
From: Tyler
Subject: Weighted averages
I cannot figure out the correct formula to use. I think if I knew how
to set it up I could do it.
Problem: An advertisement for an orange drink claims that the drink
contains 10% orange juice. How much pure orange juice would have to
be added to 5 quarts of the drink to obtain a mixture containing 40%
orange juice?
Can you help me?
Date: 11/30/2001 at 23:50:22
From: Doctor Paul
Subject: Re: Weighted averages

You have 5 quarts of "drink" that is 10% orange juice. Thus the 5
quarts of drink contain 5*10% = 5*.1 = .5 quarts of orange juice, and
hence must contain 4.5 quarts of other stuff. Now we're going to add
100% orange juice and we want to know how much to add so that the new
mixture will be 40% orange juice.
Well, what if you add 1 quart of 100% orange juice? What would that do
to the concentration of orange juice in the mixture?
It would mean that we now have 1.5 quarts of pure orange juice mixed
in a carton that now contains 6 quarts of liquid. Thus the
concentration of orange juice in this 6-quart jug would be
1.5/6 = .25 = 25%
So we haven't added enough, but maybe you see what's going on.
In a more general situation:
If we add x quarts of pure orange juice to the original mixture that
contains .5 quarts of OJ and 4.5 quarts of something else, then what
we have is a mixture of 5+x quarts that contains .5+x quarts of OJ.
So after we've added x quarts of pure OJ, the concentration of OJ will
be (.5+x)/(5+x)
We want to know when this will be equal to .4
So solve for x:
(.5+x)/(5+x) = .4
.5+x = 2 + .4x
.6x = 1.5
x = 1.5/.6 = 2.5
Thus you should add 2.5 quarts of pure OJ to make the concentration of
the new mixture 40% OJ.
I hope this helps.
some more.

Please write back if you'd like to talk about this

- Doctor Paul, The Math Forum

http://mathforum.org/dr.math/

How Much Water Evaporated?

Date: 06/19/2003 at 14:36:44
From: Amanda
Subject: Mixtures and percents
A substance is 99% water. Some water evaporates, leaving a substance
that is 98% water. How much of the water evaporated?

We know that 50.5% of the water evaporates, but have no idea how to
create a generalized equation for this problem.
Date: 06/20/2003 at 00:24:46
From: Doctor Ian
Subject: Re: Mixtures and percents
Hi Amanda,
Let's say we start with W units of water, and S units of other stuff.
We originally have 99% water, so
W
99
--- = --W+S
100
Now we want to reduce the water to some fraction, F, of the original
amount. And we want to end up with 98% water:
FW
98
---- = --FW+S
100
We can solve each of these equations for S:
W
99
--- = --W+S
100
100W = 99(W+S)
100W = 99W + 99S
W = 99S
W/99 = S
and
FW
98
---- = --FW+S
100
100FW = 98(FW+S)
100FW = 98FW + 98S
2FW = 98S
2FW/98 = S
Two things equal to the same thing are equal to each other, so
W/99 = 2FW/98

1/99 = 2F/98
98/(99*2) = F
0.495 = F
So 49.5% of the water remains, which means that 50.5% evaporated.
Here's a similar problem. Suppose there are 198 men and 2 women in a
room. That is, the men make up 99% of the people in the room.
How many men have to leave for the percentage of men to drop to 98%?
It's easier to see the answer if you concentrate on the women instead
of the men. The women originally make up 1% of the people in the
room. Later, they make up 2%.
For 2 women to make up 2% of a room, there have to be 100 people in
the room. So there have to be 98 men. Which means 100 of the men had
to leave.
- Doctor Ian, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/

Mixing Milk and Butterfat

Date: 09/04/2001 at 11:27:17
From: Nicky
Subject: Word problem
Milk that has 5% butterfat is mixed with milk that has 2% butterfat.
How much of each is needed to obtain 60 gallons of milk that has 3%
butterfat?
This is what I did.
X = gallons 5% butterfat
Y = "
2% Butterfat
X+Y = 60
5%X + 2%Y = 3%(60)
I really don't know.
Date: 09/04/2001 at 12:45:38
From: Doctor Peterson
Subject: Re: Word problem
Hi, Nicky.
You have made the right first steps. Now you can rewrite the
percentages as decimals:

0.05x + 0.02y = 0.03*60 = 1.8

You might like to avoid decimals by multiplying the whole equation by
100:
5x + 2y = 180
Now you have a system of simultaneous equations:
x + y = 60
5x + 2y = 180
You have probably learned some method of solving this. If not, the
easiest way is to solve the first equation for y:
y = 60 - x
and then replace y in the second equation with (60-x). This gives you
a single equation to solve to find x.
- Doctor Peterson, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Date: 09/04/2001 at 13:30:20
From: Doctor Greenie
Subject: Re: Word problem
Hi, Nicky You have made a perfectly good start on this problem....
.. you have clearly defined your variables X and Y
.. you have correctly written the equation, which says the total
amount of milk is 60 gallons: "X gallons with 5% butterfat, plus Y
gallons with 2% butterfat, results in a total of 60 gallons"
.. you have correctly written the equation describing the amount of
butterfat in the mixture: "X gallons with 5% butterfat, plus Y
gallons with 2% butterfat, results in 60 gallons with 3% butterfat"
For the traditional approach to the mixture problem, you now just need
to solve these two equations simultaneously to find the values of X
and Y. The immediate difficulty is with that second equation - it is
very awkward to try to work with equations containing "%" signs.
So let's first change those percents to decimals in your second
equation:
.05X + .02Y = .03(60) = 1.80 = 1.8
Then your two equations are
X +

Y = 60

.05X + .02Y = 1.8

For me, at this point, the "ugly" part about this problem is the
decimals; so I'm going to multiply the second equation by 100 to get
rid of those decimals:
X + Y = 60
5X + 2Y = 180
Now you can use your favorite method to solve these two equations; for
me, with these two equations, a linear combination method looks easy
to use...
5X + 2Y = 180
2X + 2Y = 120
--------------3X
= 60
So I have
X = 20
from which it follows that
Y = 40
So the mixture needs to be 20 gallons of milk with 5% butterfat and 40
gallons of milk with 2% butterfat.
The preceding is the traditional approach to solving mixture problems;
it is the method I have always seen taught. Following below is the
solution to this same problem using an alternative approach that I
find is usually far easier to use.
This alternative approach uses the idea that the relative closeness of
the desired percentage for the mixture to the percentages of the two
given batches determines the fraction of the mixture that is to be
made up of each of the two batches. For example, if a "mixture" is
made using only batch A, the "mixture" will have the same percentage
as batch A. If a mixture is made using equal parts of batch A and
batch B, the mixture will have a percentage halfway between the
percentages of batches A and B. And if a mixture is made using 3 parts
of batch A and 1 part of batch B, then the percentage of that mixture
will be 3 times as close to the percentage of batch A as it is to the
percentage of batch B.
So......
Here is what you are given:
The two batches of milk being mixed contain 2% butterfat and 5%
butterfat; the desired mixture is to contain 3% butterfat.
Here is the reasoning you use to find what fraction of the mixture
should be from each of the two given batches:

1) Think of 2%, 3%, and 5% on a number line. The "distance" from 2%

to 3% is 1%; the "distance" from 3% to 5% is 2%.
2) The desired percentage of butterfat is twice as close to 2% as it
is to 5%.
3) Therefore, the mixture should contain two parts of the 2% batch for
every one part of the 5% batch.
4) This means the ratio of the amount of the 2% batch to the amount
of the 5% batch should be 2:1.
5) This in turn means that 2/3 of the mixture should be the 2% batch
and 1/3 of the mixture should be the 5% batch.
6) Finally, with the mixture being 60 gallons, this means that the
mixture should contain (2/3)x60 = 40 gallons of the batch with 2%
butterfat and (1/3)x60 = 20 gallons of the batch with 5% butterfat.
I hope this helps.
Write back if you have any further questions about this type of
problem.
- Doctor Greenie, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/

Mixing Peanuts and Cashews

Date: 11/19/1999 at 23:28:15
From: Kelley Remington
Subject: Peanuts and Cashews Mixture Problem
My daughter has a problem that I have tried to figure out for hours:
Peanuts sell for $3.00 per pound. Cashews sell for $6.00 per pound.
How many pounds of cashews should be mixed with 12 pounds of peanuts
to obtain a mixture that sells for $4.20 per pound?
I sure hope you answer my question or I will never be forgiven for not
knowing how to solve this problem. I will go out and buy a book if you
are unable to answer my question.
Thank you,
Kelley Remington
Date: 11/20/1999 at 10:54:08
From: Doctor Anthony
Subject: Re: Peanuts and Cashews Mixture Problem
Let C be the weight of cashews to buy.
Total cost of mixture =
(12 x 3) + (C x 6) = (12+C) x 4.2

36 + 6C = 50.4 + 4.2C
1.8C = 14.4
C = 8
So you need to buy 8 pounds of cashews.
- Doctor Anthony, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Date: 06/23/2000 at 17:02:57
From: Doctor Johnny
Subject: Re: Peanuts and Cashews Mixture Problem
Kelly,
Hello there. My name is Dr. Johnny. I am a high school algebra teacher
who really understands your frustrations. When trying to teach this
same type of problem to high school students, I find that they
experience a variety of concerns. I hope I can help you to better
understand this situation.
The best way to set up this problem is to construct a table that shows
the relations among the 3 items (peanuts, cashews, and mixture).
Type
---Peanuts
Cashews
Mixture

Cost per pound

-------------$3.00
$6.00
$4.20

Pounds
-----12
x
12+x

Total Cost
---------3(12) = 36
6x
4.20(12+x)

Here are some explanations for why I set the chart up this way. The
peanuts line is pretty self-explanatory. The amount for the cashews is
the unknown, because you know the least about that part of the
problem. The mixture is made up of cashews and peanuts, so the amount
of the mixture is the same as the amount of peanuts + the amount of
cashews. From here, we know that the cost of the peanuts and cashews
must be the same as the mixture: 36 + 6x = 4.20(12+x). Now we must
simplify the equation to obtain the amount of cashews needed to
satisfy the problem.
36 + 6x = 4.2(12+x)
36 + 6x = 50.4 + 4.2x
6x - 4.2x = 50.4 - 36
1.8x = 14.4
x = 8

Distributive property
Get the variables on one side and the
constants on the other
Combine like terms
Division property of equality

We now have a value that we anticipate is the answer. Let's check to

see if it makes sense:
12 pounds of peanuts @ $3.00 per pound costs $36
8 pounds of cashews @ $6.00 per pound costs $48

20 pounds of mixture @ $4.20 per pound costs $84

$36 + $48 does equal $84; therefore 8 pounds of cashews does make this
situation hold true.
I always tell my students to look at the smaller pieces of the picture
instead of trying to look at the whole picture, because all of that
information can run together and really get a person confused. Good
luck in the future and if you ever need any additional help, feel free
to write.
- Doctor Johnny, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Date: 11/20/1999 at 19:44:33
From: Kelley Remington
Subject: Re: Peanuts and Cashews Mixture Problem
Thank you for your answer. I finally figured it out but went about it
a different way. Thank you so much for your answer though.

Mixture Problem
Date: 11/11/97 at 21:30:15
From: Erica Lower
Subject: Mixture problems
I am in ninth grade and in my first year of algebra. It was a breeze
at first, but now it is getting very complicated. I know how to do the
equation once it is set up, but the problem is that I can't figure out
how to set them up.
Example:
Chris has 3 gallons of a solution that is 30 percent antifreeze, which
he wants to use to winterize his car. How much pure antifreeze should
he add to this solution so that the new solution will be 65 percent
antifreeze?
Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it and I'm sure my class
will too!
Date: 11/12/97 at 05:42:13
From: Doctor Mitteldorf
Subject: Re: Mixture problems
Dear Erica,

Take heart! Everyone goes through a period of confusion about word

problems. Translating words into useful equations is a skill that
you can develop over a lifetime. The more you do, the better you'll
get at it. Keep trying and don't be afraid to make mistakes. Follow
the consequences of your reasoning, and try to learn from where it
takes you. Go back and try something else. Whatever it takes.
About antifreeze... Let's see, you start out with x gallons of
antifreeze that's been mixed with y gallons of water, and the total
is 3 gallons, so I'd say x + y = 3 is a good equation to start with.
You also know that the solution is 30 percent antifreeze, so
x/(x+y) = .30. Since you have two equations and two unknowns, these
equations are enough to tell you both x and y.
Maybe you should find x and y before going any further, and then you
can write the next equation more simply.
Now we want to add some more antifreeze until the total is 65 percent
antifreeze. Say you're adding z gallons. The equation is
(x+z)/(x+y+z) = 0.65
The x+z is the total amount of antifreeze, and the x+y+z is the total
amount of solution, antifreeze+water. Since you already know x and y,
you can put them into this equation and you'll just have a single
equation with z in it. That should do the trick!
One more thing. I think the person who made up this question was
thinking more about algebra than about chemistry. Antifreeze and water
really don't mix this way! Try it and see: take one measuring cup full
of antifreeze and mix it with one measuring cup full of water. Let me
know if the mixture you get is two cups or if it comes out more or
less than two cups!
-Doctor Mitteldorf, The Math Forum
Check out our web site! http://mathforum.org/dr.math/

Raising the Antifreeze Ratio

Date: 08/07/99 at 11:32:45
From: Steven Robles
Subject: Antifreeze Ratio
I can't understand this problem:
A 5-gallon radiator containing a mixture of water and antifreeze was
supposed to contain a 50% antifreeze solution. When tested, it was
found to have only 40% antifreeze. How much must be drained out and
replaced with pure antifreeze so that the radiator will then contain
the desired 50% antifreeze solution?
This is a hard one. I set up the equation wrong. Please help.

Thank you.
Date: 08/20/99 at 19:48:12
From: Doctor Jesse
Subject: Re: Antifreeze Ratio
Hey - this *is* a hard one! Good for you, Steven, for not giving up on
it.
Like most word problems, the hard part is in setting up the equation.
Let's look at what we know:
A 5-gallon radiator containing a mixture of water and antifreeze
was supposed to contain a 50% antifreeze solution.
Well, that means that the tank is supposed to contain 2.5 gallons of
antifreeze, and 2.5 gallons of water.
When tested, it was found to have only 40% antifreeze.
Hmm... That means the tank had (5gal * 0.4) = 2 gallons of antifreeze
and (5gal * 0.6) = 3 gallons of water in it.
How much must be drained out and replaced with pure antifreeze so
that the radiator will then contain the desired 50% antifreeze
solution?
If you could take a half-gallon of water out of the tank and replace
it with a half-gallon of antifreeze, you'd be done... But you can't do
that. When you pour out the tank, whatever you pour out will be 40%
antifreeze and 60% water, which is what makes this problem tricky. But
think of it this way:
We have 2 gallons of antifreeze in the tank now, and we need to get it
so that there are 2.5 gallons of antifreeze instead. If we let x be
the amount of pure antifreeze we need to add to the tank, then we can
set up an equation:
2 + x = 2.5
But wait - for every gallon of pure antifreeze we add to the tank, we
first have to take out an equal quantity of 40% antifreeze... so,
subtracting that part gives us the equation:
2 - 0.4x + x = 2.5
Solve for x, and you will know how much 40% antifreeze had to be
poured out, and how much pure antifreeze added, to get to the 50%
mixture. I bet you can take it from here.
You also might want to check your answer when you are done. You can do
this by going to the auto parts store and buying 2.5 gallons of pure
antifreeze... just kidding! You can check it by plugging x into the
equation you just solved, and making sure that the answer on the left
side really does come out to be 2.5 gallons.

Good luck, Steven!

- Doctor Jesse, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/

10% Sodium + 30% Sodium

Date: 07/09/2003 at 22:46:04
From: Medrano
Subject: Word problem
A group of chemists are conducting an experiment to produce a new
liquid material. One chemical contains 15% sodium (Na) and the other
chemical contains 30% sodium (Na). Once they mix the two samples the
resulting chemical contains 22% sodium (Na). How many milliliters
(ml) of each sample must be mixed to obtain 600 ml of the new
chemical?
Date: 07/11/2003 at 09:17:23
From: Doctor Ian
Subject: Re: Word problem
Hi Alex,
Instead of jumping in with calculations, let's see if we can just make
sense of the problem in a way that will lead us to a solution.
Since the first material is 15% sodium, it means that if we have some
amount, A, of the material, we can determine the amount of sodium it
contains by taking 15% of that. Does that make sense?
amount of sodium from first material = 0.15*A
For example, if we have 100 ml of the material, then 15 ml of it will
be sodium, and 85 ml will be something else.
Similarly, if B is the amount of the second material,
amount of sodium from second material = 0.30*B
Now, if we combine the two chemicals to get a new chemical, which is
22% sodium, then the total amount of combined sodium is
amount of sodium from both sources = 0.22*(A+B)
So we can use that to set up an equation:
sodium from
first material

sodium from
second materal

sodium from
both materials

0.15*A

0.30*B

= 0.22*(A+B)

Now, this is kind of a problem, since we have two variables but only
one equation. But in fact, we _have_ a second equation, because we
know that
A + B = 600
So now you have two equations, and you can use substitution or
elimination to find the values of the variables:
Substitution and Elimination
http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/57307.html
- Doctor Ian, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/

The Ratio of Water to Wine

Date: 10/22/95 at 0:4:6
From: Anonymous
Subject: Ratios
Hi , I need help with this question and I don't know where to
begin!!.
A cask is filled with 45 gallons of wine . Nine gallons
are removed and the cask is refilled with water. The nine gallons
of the mixture are removed and the cask is refilled with water
again.
What is the ratio of water to wine in the final mixture?
Date: 10/23/95 at 11:44:35
From: Doctor Ken
Subject: Re: Ratios
Hello!
Here's how I would approach the problem. You know what the
mixture is right after you do the first water replacement: there
are 36 gallons of wine and 9 gallons of water. So what is the
ratio of wine to water in the flask at that point? It's 36/9 =
4/1, so assuming a homogenous mixture, in every 5 parts of liquid
there are 4 parts wine and 1 part water. So 4/5 of every volume
that you remove is wine, and the rest is water.
Now you can figure out how much of the stuff you remove in the
second round is actually wine, and then you can figure out how
much is left in the cask.
Good luck!

-Doctor Ken,

The Geometry Forum

Silver Alloy
Date: 07/12/2001 at 00:31:55
From: Milad
Subject: Problem Solving
Sterling Silver is 92.5% pure silver. How many grams of pure silver
and sterling silver must be mixed to obtain 100g of a 94% Silver
alloy?
Date: 07/12/2001 at 14:52:38
From: Doctor Greenie
Subject: Re: Problem Solving
Hello, Milad Thanks for sending your question to us here at Dr. Math.
I found several pages in the Dr. Math archives where similar problems
are discussed by doing a search using the keyword mixture . You may
want to perform that search yourself and look at some of the other
explanations for similar problems provided by other math doctors.
http://mathforum.org/mathgrepform.html
The traditional method for solving a problem like this (used in all
the examples I found in the archives) is to write an equation relating
the amounts of pure silver in the two "input" mixtures and in the
"output" mixture.
In your problem you have one "input" mixture that is 92.5% silver and
another that is 100% silver; and your "output" mixture is 94% silver.
The amounts of the two input mixtures are unknown; the amount of the
output mixture is 100g. Let
x = grams of 92.5% silver alloy
Then, since the total weight is 100g, we have
(100-x) = grams of 100% silver
We now write an equation relating the amounts of pure silver in the
two "input" mixtures and in the "output" mixture:
"x" grams at 92.5% silver + (100-x) grams at 100% = 100g at 94%
(x)(0.925) + (100-x)(1.0)
0.925x + 100 - x
6
6000

=
=
=
=

(100)(0.94)
94
0.075x
75x

6000/75 = x
80 = x
So to make 100g of an alloy of 94% silver, you need to mix 80g of
92.5% alloy and 20g of pure silver.
And now here is a completely different approach to the same problem.
I prefer this method, because I find the calculations are usually
easier. Understanding why this method works is probably a bit more
difficult than understanding the traditional method, but it works for
me, so I use it. Take a look at this alternative method and see if
you like it.
We have two "input" mixtures; one of 92.5% silver and the other of
100% silver. We want to make a mixture of 94% silver. If I think of
plotting these percentages on a number line, I see that the "distance"
from 92.5% to 94% is 1.5%, while the "distance" from 94% to 100% is
6%.
And now here is the key to my method: The distances from 92.5% to 94%
and from 94% to 100% are 1.5% and 6%; these two distances are in the
ratio 1:4. This means that the two "input" mixtures must be mixed in
the ratio 1:4 to get the 94% alloy.
If there are to be 100g of the 94% alloy and the two input mixtures
are in the ratio 1:4, then there must be 20g of one input and 80g of
the other. Because the resulting alloy is closer to 92.5% than 100%,
the required amounts of the inputs are 80g of the 92.5% alloy and 20g
of the 100% silver.
- Doctor Greenie, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/

Coffee or Tea?
Date: 07/09/2001 at 14:39:55
From: Traylor
Subject: Mixtures
Here is the problem:
Person A has a cup of coffee. Person B has a cup of tea. Person A
takes a teaspoon of coffee and puts it in the tea. Person B mixes the
teaspoon of coffee and tea, then takes a teaspoon of the mixture and
returns it to the coffee. Is there more coffee in the tea, or more tea
in the coffee, or are they the same?
My thought is there is more coffee in the tea. I have been told they
are the same. Could you please explain this, because I don't get it!
Date: 07/09/2001 at 18:03:43

From: Doctor Rob

Subject: Re: Mixtures
Thanks for writing to Ask Dr. Math, Traylor.
They are the same.
The volume of each cup after the swap is the same. That means that
whatever coffee is missing from the first cup must have been replaced
with exactly the same amount of tea.
- Doctor Rob, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Date: 07/16/2001 at 17:39:18
From: Doctor Ian
Subject: Re: Mixtures
Hi Traylor,
Suppose I have a school full of boys, and a separate school full of
the same number of girls. I fill a bus with boys, drive them over to
the girls' school, and let them mingle. Then I grab enough boys and
girls to fill the bus, and drive them back over to the boys' school.
Now, are there more girls at the boys' school, or more boys at the
girls' school?
Do you see why I could have accomplished the same thing by filling the
bus with boys, driving over to the girls, telling _some_ of the boys
to get off, and picking up enough girls to take their places?
When you think about it this way, it becomes pretty obvious that every
boy who goes over to the girls' school is replaced by one girl who
goes back to the boys' school.
In your problem, the teaspoon leaves the coffee cup full of some
amount of coffee. When it comes back, some of the coffee has been
replaced with tea. How much tea comes back? One unit of tea comes back
for each unit of coffee left behind.
This is a problem that has driven a lot of people crazy over the
years. You can a very extensive description of it here:
Brain teaser: the wine in the water problem - Donald Sauter
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/lobby/7049/wine.htm
Focusing on mixtures in this context can be a red herring. Mixtures
are something that most people don't have a lot of experience with, so
they get caught up in trying to reason about what's happening when two
things get mixed, which leads them away from the solution, rather than
toward it.
I hope this helps. Write back if you have more questions, about this
or anything else.

- Doctor Ian, The Math Forum

http://mathforum.org/dr.math/

Blending Seed
Date: 09/27/98 at 00:26:11
From: Anonymous
Subject: Grass seed problem
Hi! Here is a problem that my father and I have been working on for
half an hour:
A lawn-and-garden dealer wants to make a new blend of grass seed by
using 200 pounds of $0.45 per pound seed and some $0.65 per pound
seed. How much of the $0.65 seed does the dealer need to make a $0.55
per pound blend?
Thank you so very much for your help. Hope to hear from you soon.
Date: 09/27/98 at 01:22:14
From: Doctor Ken
Subject: Re: Grass seed problem
Hi,
First I'll give you a sort of intuition-based solution, and then I'll
go back and be a little more formal, writing things out in algebraic
notation.
The first thing I noticed about this problem was that a pound of one
kind of seed costs 45 cents, a pound of the other costs 65 cents, and
we want to make a mix that costs 55 cents. Well, 55 is halfway between
45 and 65, so it seems like we should combine equal parts of the two
kinds of seed. Since we need to use 200 pounds of the first kind, we
should use 200 pounds of the other kind, for a total of 400 pounds.
To verify this solution, let's see how much the pieces would cost.
200 pounds of the first kind of seed would cost 200 * $0.45 = $90, and
200 pounds of the second kind of seed would cost 200 * $0.65 = $130.
.We bought 400 pounds total and paid $220, so we paid on average
$220/400 = $0.55. Seems to check out.
Now, how can we use algebra to find this same solution? The first
thing I usually try to do is to find a sentence (an English sentence,
or whatever language you like best) that says something true and
useful about the problem. Then I translate that sentence into an
algebraic equation.
In this problem, I think I'd make this sentence: "The cost per pound
of the combined seed mixture is 55 cents." Let's work on translating

that into an equation. First it becomes:

cost per pound = $0.55
What is the cost per pound? It's the number you get when you divide
the total price by the number of pounds of seed:
total price
---------------- = $0.55
pounds of seed
The total price is the cost of the 45c part and the 65c part. The
number of pounds of seed is the number of pounds of the first kind
plus the number of pounds of the second kind. The only unknown thing
here is the number of pounds of the second kind, so let's call that x.
200*$0.45 + x*$0.65
--------------------- = $0.55
200 + x
Now we've done the translation. I'll leave it to you to work out the
solution from here, and verify that the answer really is 200.
- Doctor Ken, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/

Changing the Concentration of a Solution

Date: 05/30/2002 at 20:31:37
From: Makeia Gay
Subject: I need help
I don't understand how to do mixture problems. For example, a chemist
has 6 liters of a 25% alcohol solution. How much alcohol must he add
so that the resulting solution contains 50% alcohol?
Date: 05/31/2002 at 14:25:22
From: Doctor Ian
Subject: Re: I need help
Hi Makeia,
The way I normally do these is with pictures.
of 25% alcohol. That would look like
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
| A |

+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
| A |

+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
| A |

+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
| A |

+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
| A |

+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
| A |

Suppose I have 6 liters

+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+

Each 'tube' represents a liter, and each liter is 1/4 alcohol.
Does that make sense?
Now, suppose he's going to add pure alcohol until he ends up with
a 50% solution. How much does he have to add? The picture tells
us that if we add two more 'rows' of A's at the bottom, we'd
have a 50% solution:
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
| A |
+---+

+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
| A |
+---+

+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
| A |
+---+

+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
| A |
+---+

+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
| A |
+---+

+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
|
|
+---+
| A |
+---+

+---+
| A |
+---+
| A |
+---+

+---+
| A |
+---+
| A |
+---+

+---+
| A |
+---+
| A |
+---+

+---+
| A |
+---+
| A |
+---+

+---+
| A |
+---+
| A |
+---+

+---+
| A |
+---+
| A |
+---+

So how much alcohol would that be? Each 'A' is 1/4 of a liter,
and there are 12 of them; so he has to add 12/4 liters, or 3
liters.
I hope this helps.
- Doctor Ian, The Math Forum
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/

Mixture problems

This lesson presents some typical Mixture problems and the methodology
for their solutions.
The problems gathered in this lesson are of the type
"how much of the pure solute (bulk liquid, i.e. water) should be
added...", or
"how much of water should be taken off (evaporated)...", or
"how much of the pure solvent (salt, acid etc.) should be added...",
or
"how much of the solution with the given concentration should be

added..." .
The way to solve these problems is to reduce them to the linear equation
with one unknown, and then to solve this equation.

The Mixture problems of the different type are presented in the

lesson More Mixture problems in this module.
The way to solve that problems is to reduce them to the linear system of
two equations in two unknowns.

Problem 1. Add water to the Salt solution

How much water should be added to 200 milliliters of a 10% salt solution
to get a 2% salt solution?
(Concentrations here are mass-to-volume concentrations, measured in
[g/mL] units, grams of the salt per 1 milliliter of the solution volume).
Solution
Since an initial solution concentration is 10%, it contains 0.1 [g/mL]*200
mL = 20 g (grams) of salt.
Let us denote as x a volume of water in milliliters, which should be added
to 200 mL of the solution to get a 2% solution.
After adding water, the volume of the solution will be 200 mL + x mL =
(200 + x) mL.
The mass of salt remains the same in the new solution, i.e. 20 grams.
Since the concentration after adding water should be equal to 2%, this
gives us an equation
.

Simplify this equation step by step:

(after multiplication both sides by

);

(after brackets opening);

(after collecting the constant terms on the left side);
(after reducing like terms);
.
So,

mL is the potential solution.

The last step is to check the solution. Simply substitute the value
of

into the very first equation:

.

The check shows that the solution is correct.

Answer. 800 mL of water should be added to 200 milliliters of the 10%
salt solution to get the 2% salt solution.

Problem 2. Evaporate water from the Salt solution

How much water must be evaporated from 1000 milliliters of a 2% salt

solution to get a 10% salt solution?
(Concentrations here are mass-to-volume concentrations, measured in
[g/mL] units, same as in the Problem 1).

Solution
Since an initial solution concentration is 2%, it contains 0.02 [g/mL]*1000
mL = 20 g (grams) of salt.
Let us denote as x a volume of water in milliliters, which should be
evaporated from 1000 mL of the solution to get a 10% solution.
After evaporating water, the volume of the solution will be 1000 mL - x
mL = (1000 - x) mL.
The mass of salt remains the same in the new solution, i.e. 20 grams.
Since the concentration after evaporating water should be equal to 10%,
this gives us an equation
.
Simplify this equation step by step:
(after multiplication both sides by

);

(after brackets opening);

(after collecting variable term on the left side, constant terms
on the right side);
(after reducing like terms);
.
So,

mL is the potential solution.

The last step is to check the solution. Simply substitute the value
of

into the very first equation:

.
The check shows that the solution is correct.
Answer. 800 mL of water should be evaporated from 1000 milliliters of
the 2% salt solution to get the 10% salt solution.

Problem 3. Add the salt to the Salt solution

How much salt should be added to 1000 milliliters of a 2% salt solution to

get a 4% salt solution?
(Concentrations here are mass-to-volume concentrations, measured in
[g/mL] units, same as in Problem 1).
Solution
Since an initial solution concentration is 2%, it contains 0.02 [g/mL]*1000
mL = 20 g (grams) of salt.
Let us denote x a mass of salt in grams, which should be added to 1000
mL of the solution to get a 4% solution.
After adding salt, the volume of the solution remains the same, equal to
1000 mL.
The mass of salt after adding salt is equal to 20 g + x g = (20 + x) g
(grams).
Since the concentration after adding water should be equal to 4%, this
gives us an equation
.
Simplify this equation step by step:

(after multiplication both sides by 1000);

;
;
.
So,

g is the potential solution.

The last step is to check the solution. Simply substitute the value
of

into the very first equation:

.

The check shows that the solution is correct.

Answer. 20 g of salt should be added to 1000 milliliters of the 2% salt
solution to get the 4% salt solution.

Problem 4. Add water to the Acid solution

How much water should be added to 200 milliliters of a 10% acid solution
to get a 2% acid solution?
(Concentrations here are volume-to-volume concentrations, measured in
[mL/mL] units, milliliter of the acid volume per 1 milliliter of the solution
volume).
Solution

Since an initial solution concentration is 10%, it contains 0.1 [mL/mL]*200

mL = 20 mL (milliliters) of acid.
Let us denote as x a volume of water in milliliters, which should be added
to 200 mL of the solution to get a 2% solution.
After adding water, the volume of the solution will be 200 mL + x mL =
(200 + x) mL.
The volume of acid remains the same in the new solution, i.e. 20 milliliters.
Since the concentration after adding water should be equal to 2%, this
gives us an equation
.
This equation is the same as in Problem 1.
Solve it yourself as an exercise.
Answer. 800 mL of water should be added to 200 milliliters of the 10%
acid solution to get the 2% acid solution.

Problem 5. Add the pure acid to the Acid solution

How much of the pure acid should be added to 1000 milliliters of a 2%

a0cid solution to get a 4% acid solution?
(Concentrations here are volume-to-volume concentrations, measured in
[mL/mL] units, same as in Problem 4).
Solution
Since an initial solution concentration is 2%, it contains 0.02
[mL/mL]*1000 mL = 20 mL (milliliters) of acid.
Let us denote as x a volume of acid in milliliters, which should be added to
1000 mL of the solution to get a 4% solution.
After adding x mL of acid, the volume of the solution will be equal to 1000

mL + x mL = (1000+x) mL.
The volume of acid after adding acid is equal to 20 mL + x mL = (20 + x)
mL (milliliters).
Since the concentration after adding water should be equal to 4%, this
gives us an equation
.
Simplify this equation step by step:
(after multiplication both sides by 1000+x);
(after brackets opening);
(after collecting variable terms on the left side, constant
terms on the right side);
(after reducing like terms);
.
So,

mL is the potential solution.

The last step is to check the solution. Simply substitute the value
of

into the very first equation:

.

The check shows that the solution is correct.

Answer. 20.833 mL of the pure acid should be added to 1000 milliliters of
the 2% acid solution to get the 4% acid solution.

Note that the equation and the resulting value in this Problem are
different from those of Problem 3.

Problem 6. Add the Acid solution to the Acid solution

How much of the 10% acid solution should be added to 1000 milliliters of
a 2% acid solution to get a 4% acid solution?
(Concentrations here are volume-to-volume concentrations, measured in
[mL/mL] units, same as in Problem 4).
Solution
Since an initial solution concentration is 2%, it contains 0.02
[mL/mL]*1000 mL = 20 mL (milliliters) of acid.
Let us denote as x a volume of the 10% acid solution in milliliters, which
should be added to 1000 mL of the solution to get a 4% solution.
After adding x mL of the 10% acid solution, the volume of the solution will
be equal to 1000 mL + x mL = (1000+x) mL.
The volume of acid after adding x mL of the 10% acid solution is equal to
20 mL + 0.1*x mL = (20 + 0.1*x) mL (milliliters).
Since the concentration after adding water should be equal to 4%, this
gives us an equation
.
Simplify this equation step by step:
(after multiplication both sides by 1000+x);
(after brackets opening);

(after collecting variable terms on the left side, constant

terms on the right side);
(after reducing like terms);
.
So,

mL is the potential solution.

Now, check the solution. Simply substitute the value of

into the

very first equation:

.
The check shows that the solution is correct.
Answer. 333.333 mL of the 10% acid solution should be added to 1000
milliliters of the 2% acid solution to get the 4% acid solution.

Problem 7. Mixing water and antifreeze

How much pure antifreeze liquid should be added to 1 gallon of 40%

antifreeze to get 60% antifreeze?
(Concentrations here are volume concentrations, measured in
[volume/volume] units).
Solution
First, there is 0.4 gal of pure antifreeze in 1 gallon of 40% antifreeze.
Let us denote x a volume of pure antifreeze, which should be added to 1

gallon of 40% antifreeze to get 60% antifreeze.

So, the volume of antifreeze after adding is 0.4 + x gallons, while the
total volume of liquid (water plus antifreeze) after adding is 1.0+x.
The condition of 60% volume concentration gives an equation
, or 0.4+x = 0.6*(1.0+x).

This is the linear equation. (Note that this is the same form equation as in
the Problem 5).
Simplify the equation step by step:
,
,
,
gallons.

Check:

Answer. 0.5 gallons of pure antifreeze should be added to 1 gallon of 40%

antifreeze to get 60% antifreeze.
Note. Among other, problems gathered in this lesson show the difference
between equations for dissolving the additional salt and adding the liquid
solution.
When the liquid solution is added, the increase of the total volume should
be counted.
When the additional amount of the salt is dissolved, the change of the

total volume is negligible, at least in the practical range of small or

moderate concentrations.

Tip #1: Multiplying by Powers of 5

There are times in life when you just get lucky. It turns out that one of those lucky little moments
occurs each and every time you need to multiply one number by another number that happens to be
a power of 5. For example, let's say you need to find 36 x 5 (which, of course, fits the bill since 5 is the
first power of 5). The trick is to recognize the fact that 5 = 10 / 2. Why is that helpful? Because it
means that we can find 36 x 5 by instead finding 36 x 10 (which is easy) and then dividing the result
by 2. In this case, 36 x 10 = 360, and 360 / 2 = 180. Impressively speedy, right?
But we're not done! What if we instead need to solve the problem 36 x 25? Well, this trick is all about
multiplying by powers of 5and 25 = 5^2 is certainly that. So how does it work in this case? The
trick here is to recognize that 25 = 100 / 4. And in general, the trick with powers of 5 is to recognize
that they are always some multiple of 10 divided by an integer. This tells us that 36 x 25 = 36 x 100 /
4. Since we can quickly figure out that 36 x 100 = 3,600, it's easy to find that 36 x 25 = 3,600 / 4 =
900.

Tip #2: Squaring Numbers Ending in

5
Our fun with 5s doesn't end there. We talked about how to square numbers in your head before, but
it turns out that things get a whole lot easier when squaring a two-digit number that ends in 5. Here's
the trick: Any time you square a two-digit number that ends in 5, the last digits of the answer will be
25 and the digits before that are given by multiplying the first digit of the number by the number
that's one greater.
For example, this trick says that the last two digits of 45^2 must be 25, and the digits before that are
given by 4 x 5 = 20. So 45^2 = 2,025. How about 75^2? Well, once again we know that the last two
digits will be 25 (since they always are for this kind of problem), and the previous digits are given by
7 x 8 (that's the first digit times the number that's one greater). So the answer is 75^2 = 5,625. Fast
and easy!

Tip #3: Easily Multiplying Lots of 9s

The third trick for today has to do with multiplying any number by 9, 99, 999, or any other number
that's 1 less than a power of 10. What makes all of these wild 9 numbers special? In a problem like 44

x 9, the trick is to recognize that 44 x 9 = 44 x (10 - 1). The distributive property of

multiplication tells us that this is the same as 44 x 10 - 44. And since it's easy to multiply by a power
of 10, looking at the problem this way makes it much easier to solve. In particular, it tells us that 44 x
9 = 44 x 10 - 44 = 440 - 44 = 440 - 40 - 4 = 396 (sharp-eyed math fans may notice a trick there
related to the mental subtraction tips from before).
If we're instead trying to solve 44 x 99, the trick is to recognize that this is the same as 44 x (100 - 1)
= (44 x 100) - 44. In other words, any time you're multiplying by one of these numbers that are all 9s,
the trick is to know that you can simply multiply the other number by the next higher power of 10
and then subtract the original number. Give it a try and you'll see just how much faster this is.

If you're trying to solve 44 x 99, the trick is to recognize that

this is the same as 44 x (100 - 1) = (44 x 100) - 44.

Tip #4: Multiplying by Powers of 2

You can use today's fourth tip any time you're multiplying one number by another number that's a
power of 2. Which means that any time you're multiplying some number by 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and so
on, this is your ticket to mental math bliss. Instead of going through the usual multiplication process,
in this case all you have to do is double the number you're multiplying for each power of 2 in the
other number.
For example, the problem 12 x 8 is the same thing as 12 x 2^3 or 12 x 2 x 2 x 2. Which means that we
can quickly find the answer by continually doubling 12 three times. So the first doubling of 12 gives
24, the second doubling takes us to 48, and the third doubling gives 96. So 12 x 8 = 96.

Tip #5: Double and Halve to Multiply

Fast
The previous trick is really just a special case of today's fifth and final (and I think coolest) trick that
you can use whenever one of the numbers you're multiplying is even. Let's say you're multiplying 47
x 24. Since 24 is an even number, let's use the idea of doubling and halving to solve this problem
quickly.
What do I mean by doubling and halving? Well, the trick is to continually double one number while
halving the other. In this case, this means that we turn the problem 47 x 24 into the problem 94 x 12
by simultaneously doubling 47 and halving 24. We can then do the same thing and turn the problem
into 188 x 6, and again to get 376 x 3. At this point, we can't double and halve any further, so we just
have to do the remainingmuch easier!multiplication problem to find that 47 x 24 = 376 x 3 =
1,128.

Wrap Up
You'll definitely need to practice these techniques to get comfortable (and fast) using themso I
highly encourage you to make up some multiplication problems to work through. It will take some
time and energy, but your effort will certainly be rewarded!
Okay, thats all the math we have time for today.
Be sure to check out my mental math audiobook called The Math Dudes 5 Tips to Mastering Mental
Math. And for even more math goodness, check out my book The Math Dudes Quick and Dirty
Guide to Algebra.
Remember to become a fan of the Math Dude on Facebook where youll find lots of great math
posted throughout the week. If youre on Twitter, please follow me there, too. Finally, please send
your math questions my way via Facebook, Twitter, or email at mathdude@quickanddirtytips.com.
Until next time, this is Jason Marshall with The Math Dudes Quick and Dirty Tips to Make
Math Easier. Thanks for reading, math fans!
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