Mixture problems and their solutions are presented along with their

solutions. Percentages are also used to solve these types of problems.

Problem 1: How many liters of 20% alcohol solution should be added to

40 liters of a 50% alcohol solution to make a 30% solution?

Solution to Problem 1:

• Let x be the quantity of the 20% alcohol solution to be added to

the 40 liters of a 50% alcohol. Let y be the quantity of the final
30% solution. Hence

x + 40 = y

• We shall now express mathematically that the quantity of alcohol

in x liters plus the quantity of alcohol in the 40 liters is equal to the
quantity of alcohol in y liters. But remember the alcohol is
measured in percentage term.

20% x + 50% * 40 = 30% y

• Substitute y by x + 40 in the last equation to obtain.

20% x + 50% * 40 = 30% (x + 40)

• Change percentages into fractions.

20 x / 100 + 50 * 40 / 100= 30 x / 100 + 30 * 40 / 100

• Mutliply all terms by 100 to simplify.

20 x + 50 * 40 = 30 x + 30 * 40

• Solve for x.

x = 80 liters

• 80 liters of 20% alcohol is be added to 40 liters of a 50% alcohol

solution to make a 30% solution.
Problem 2: John wants to make a 100 ml of 5% alcohol solution mixing
a quantity of a 2% alcohol solution with a 7% alcohol solution. What are
the quantities of each of the two solutions (2% and 7%) he has to use?

Solution to Problem 2:

• Let x and y be the quatities of the 2% and 7% aclohol solutions to

be used to make 100 ml. Hence

x + y = 100

• We now write mathematically that the quantity of alcohol in x ml

plus the quantity of alcohol in y ml is equal to the quantity of
alcohol in 100 ml.

2% x + 7% y = 5% 100

• The first equation gives y = 100 - x. Substitute in the last equation

to obtain

2% x + 7% (100 - x) = 5% 100

• Multiply by 100 and simplify

2 x + 700 - 7 x = 5 * 100

• Solve for x

x = 40 ml

• Substitute x by 40 in the first equation to find y

y = 100 - x = 60 ml

Problem 3: Sterling Silver is 92.5% pure silver. How many grams of

Sterling Silver must be mixed to a 90% Silver alloy to obtain a 500g of a
91% Silver alloy?

Solution to Problem 3:

• Let x and y be the weights, in grams, of sterling silver and of the

90% alloy to make the 500 grams at 91%. Hence
 x + y =500

• The number of grams of pure silver in x plus the number of grams

of pure silver in y is equal to the number of grams of pure silver in
the 500 grams. The pure silver is given in percentage forms.
Hence

92.5% x + 90% y = 91% 500

• Substitute y by 500 - x in the last equation to write

92.5% x + 90% (500 - x) = 91% 500

• Simplify and solve

92.5 x + 45000 - 90 x = 45500

x = 200 grams.

• 200 grams of Sterling Silver is needed to make the 91% alloy.

Problem 4: How many Kilograms of Pure water is to be added to 100

Kilograms of a 30% saline solution to make it a 10% saline solution.

Solution to Problem 4:

• Let x be the weights, in Kilograms, of pure water to be added. Let

y be the weight, in Kilograms, of the 10% solution. Hence

x + 100 = y

• Let us now express the fact that the amount of salt in the pure
water (which 0) plus the amount of salt in the 30% solution is
equal to the amount of salt in the final saline solution at 10%.

0 + 30% 100 = 10% y

• Substitute y by x + 100 in the last equation and solve.

30% 100 = 10% (x + 100)

 • Solve for x.

x = 200 Kilograms.

Problem 5: A 50 ml after-shave lotion at 30% alcohol is mixed with 30

ml of pure water. What is the percentage of alcohol in the new solution?

Solution to Problem 5:

• The amount of the final mixture is given by

50 ml + 30 ml = 80 ml

• The amount of alcohol is equal to the amount of alcohol in pure

water ( which is 0) plus the amount of alcohol in the 30% solution.
Let x be the percentage of alcohol in the final solution. Hence

0 + 30% 50 ml = x (80)

• Solve for x

x = 0.1817 = 18.75%

Problem 6: You add x ml of a 25% alcohol solution to a 200 ml of a

10% alcohol solution to obtain another solution. Find the amount of
alcohol in the final solution in terms of x. Find the ratio, in terms of x, of
the alcohol in the final solution to the total amount of the solution. What
do you think will happen if x is very large? Find x so that the final
solution has a percentage of 15%.

Solution to Problem 6:

• Let us first find the amount of alcohol in the 10% solution of 200
ml.

200 * 10% = 20 ml

• The amount of alcohol in the x ml of 25% solution is given by

25% x = 0.25 x
 • The total amount of alcohol in the final solution is given by

20 + 0.25 x

• The ratio of alcohol in the final solution to the total amount of the
solution is given by

[ ( 20 + 0.25 x ) / (x + 200)]

• If x becomes very large in the above formula for the ratio, then the
ratio becomes close to 0.25 or 25% (The above function is a
rational function and 0.25 is its horizontal asymptote). This means
that if you increase the amount x of the 25% solution, this will
dominate and the final solution will be very close to a 25%
solution.

• To have a percentage of 15%, we need to have

[ ( 20 + 0.25 x ) / (x + 200)] = 15% = 0.15

• Solve the above equation for x

20 + 0.25 x = 0.15 * (x + 200)

x = 300 ml

suppose you work in a lab. You need a 15% acid solution for a certain test, but your supplier only
ships a 10% solution and a 30% solution. Rather than pay the hefty surcharge to have the
supplier make a 15% solution, you decide to mix 10% solution with 30%solution, to make your
own 15% solution. You need 10 liters of the 15% acid solution. How many liters of 10% solution
and 30% solution should you use?

Let x stand for the number of liters of 10% solution, and let y stand for the number of liters
of 30%solution. (The labeling of variables is, in this case, very important, because "x" and "y" are
not at all suggestive of what they stand for. If we don't label, we won't be able to interpret our
answer in the end.) For mixture problems, it is often very helpful to do a grid:

liters sol'n percent acid total liters acid

10% sol'n x 0.10 0.10x
30% sol'n y 0.30 0.30y
mixture x + y = 10 0.15 (0.15)(10) = 1.5
Since x + y = 10, then x = 10 – y. Using this, we can substitute for x in our grid, and eliminate
one of the variables: Copyright © Elizabeth Stapel 2006-2008 All Rights Reserved

liters sol'n percent acid liters acid

10% sol'n 10 – y 0.10 0.10(10 – y)
30% sol'n y 0.30 0.30y
mixture x + y = 10 0.15 (0.15)(10) = 1.5

When the problem is set up like this, you can usually use the last column to write your equation:
The liters of acid from the 10% solution, plus the liters of acid in the 30% solution, add up to the
liters of acid in the 15% solution. Then:

0.10(10 – y) + 0.30y = 1.5

1 – 0.10y + 0.30y = 1.5
1 + 0.20y = 1.5
0.20y = 0.5
y = 0.5/0.20 = 2.5

Then we need 2.5 liters of the 30% solution, and x = 10 – y = 10 – 2.5 = 7.5 liters of
the 10%solution. (If you think about it, this makes sense. Fifteen percent is closer to 10% than
to 30%, so we ought to need more 10% solution in our mix.)

"Mixture" Word Problems: Examples (page 2 of 2)

Usually, these exercises are fairly easy to solve once you've found the equations. To help you
see how to set up these problems, below are a few more problems with their grids (but not
solutions).

• How many liters of a 70% alcohol solution must be added to 50 liters of

a 40% alcohol solution to produce a 50% alcohol solution?

liters sol'n % alcohol total liters alcohol

70% sol'n x 0.70 0.70x
40% sol'n 50 0.40 (0.40)(50) = 20
50% mix 50 + x 0.50 0.50(50 + x)

From the last column, you get the equation 0.7x + 20 = 0.5(50 + x). Solve for x.
 • How many ounces of pure water must be added to 50 ounces of a 15% saline
solution to make a saline solution that is 10% salt?

ounces liquid % salt total ounces salt

water x 0 0
15% sol'n 50 0.15 (50)(0.15) = 7.5
10% mix 50 + x 0.10 0.10(50 + x)

From the last column, you get the equation 7.5 = 0.1(50 + x). Solve for x.

(Note the percentage for water. "Pure water" contains no salt, so the percent of salt is zero. If, on
the other hand, you were trying to increase the salt content by adding pure salt, the percent would
have been one hundred.)

• Find the selling price per pound of a coffee mixture made from 8 pounds of coffee
that sells for $9.20 per pound and 12 pounds of coffee that costs $5.50 per pound.

pounds coffee $/pound total $ for coffee

pricey 8 $9.20 (8)($9.20) = $73.60
cheapo 12 $5.50 (12)($5.50) = $66
mix 8 + 12 = 20 ? $73.60 + 66 = $139.60

From the last row, you see that you have 20 pounds for $139.60, or $139.60/(20 pounds).
Simplify the division to find the unit rate. Copyright © Elizabeth Stapel 2006-2008 All Rights Reserved

• How many pounds of lima beans that cost $0.90 per pound must be mixed
with 16pounds of corn that costs $0.50 per pound to make a mixture of vegetables
that costs$0.65 per pound?

pounds $/pound total $ for veggies

lima beans x $0.90 $0.90x
corn 16 $0.50 (16)($0.50) = $8
mix 16 + x $0.65 (16 + x)($0.65)

From the last column, you get the equation $0.90x + $8 = (16 + x)($0.65). Solve for x.

• Two hundred liters of a punch that contains 35% fruit juice is mixed
with 300 liters (L)of another punch. The resulting fruit punch is 20% fruit juice.
Find the percent of fruit juice in the 300 liters of punch.
 liters punch % juice total liters juice
35% juice 200 0.35 (200)(0.35) = 70
other punch 300 x 300x
mix 200 + 300 = 500 0.20 (500)(0.20) = 100

From the last column, you get the equation 70 + 300x = 100. Solve for x, and then convert the
decimal answer to a percentage.

• Ten grams of sugar are added to a 40-g serving of a breakfast cereal that
is 30% sugar. What is the percent concentration of sugar in the resulting mixture?

grams in bowl % sugar total grams sugar

sugar 10 1.00 10
cereal 40 0.30 (40)(0.30) = 12
mix 50 ? 10 + 12 = 22

From the last row, you see that there are 22 grams of sugar in the 50 grams in the bowl, or 22/50.
Simplify, and then convert to a percentage.