Unknown concentration in mixture

CAT 2018 Slot 2 · QA · Medium · Mixtures & Alligations

A 20% ethanol solution is mixed with another ethanol solution, say, S of unknown concentration in the proportion 1:3 by volume. This mixture is then mixed with an equal volume of 20% ethanol solution. If the resultant mixture is a 31.25% ethanol solution, then the unknown concentration of S is

  1. A.

    50%

  2. B.

    55%

  3. C.

    48%

  4. D.

    52%

Answer

A

Explanation

Let concentration of S be x%x\%. First mixture combines 1 part of 20% solution and 3 parts of S (x%x\%). Concentration of first mixture =1(20)+3(x)4=20+3x4%= \frac{1(20) + 3(x)}{4} = \frac{20 + 3x}{4}\%.

This mixture is then mixed with an equal volume of 20% ethanol solution. So resultant concentration is the average of 20+3x4%\frac{20+3x}{4}\% and 20%20\%, which equals 31.25%31.25\%: 20+3x4+202=31.25\frac{\frac{20 + 3x}{4} + 20}{2} = 31.25 20+3x4+20=62.5\frac{20 + 3x}{4} + 20 = 62.5 20+3x4=42.5\frac{20 + 3x}{4} = 42.5 20+3x=170    3x=150    x=50%20 + 3x = 170 \implies 3x = 150 \implies x = 50\%

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