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Bottle 11 contains a mixture of milk and water in 7:27: 2 ratio and Bottle 22 contains a mixture of milk and water in 9:49: 4 ratio. In what ratio of volumes should the liquids in Bottle 11 and Bottle 22 be combined to obtain a mixture of milk and water in 3:13: 1 ratio?

Solution

✅ Correct Option: 2

We need to find the right ratio to combine two bottles with different milk concentrations to get our target mixture.

Let us first convert the ratios to concentrations (fractions):

Bottle 1: Milk:Water = 7:2

Total parts = 7 + 2 = 9

Milk concentration = 79\tfrac{7}{9}

Bottle 2: Milk:Water = 9:4

Total parts = 9 + 4 = 13

Milk concentration = 913\tfrac{9}{13}

Target mixture: Milk:Water = 3:1

Total parts = 3 + 1 = 4

Target milk concentration = 34\tfrac{3}{4}


What is Alligation? It's a smart technique used when mixing two solutions with different concentrations. The key insight is that the stronger solution "pulls up" the weaker solution, and vice versa.

The alligation formula gives us:

Volume from Bottle 1Volume from Bottle 2=∣Bottle 2 concentration−Target∣∣Target−Bottle 1 concentration∣\dfrac{\text{Volume from Bottle 1}}{\text{Volume from Bottle 2}} = \dfrac{|\text{Bottle 2 concentration} - \text{Target}|}{|\text{Target} - \text{Bottle 1 concentration}|}


Let us find the absolute differences:

|Bottle 2 concentration - Target| = |913\tfrac{9}{13} - 34\tfrac{3}{4}| |Target - Bottle 1 concentration| = |34\tfrac{3}{4} - 79\tfrac{7}{9}|

For the first difference:

913−34=3652−3952=−352\dfrac{9}{13} - \dfrac{3}{4} = \dfrac{36}{52} - \dfrac{39}{52} = -\dfrac{3}{52}

Taking absolute value: 352\dfrac{3}{52}

For the second difference:

34−79=2736−2836=−136\dfrac{3}{4} - \dfrac{7}{9} = \dfrac{27}{36} - \dfrac{28}{36} = -\dfrac{1}{36}

Taking absolute value: 136\dfrac{1}{36}


Bottle 1Bottle 2=3/521/36=352×361=10852=2713\dfrac{\text{Bottle 1}}{\text{Bottle 2}} = \dfrac{3/52}{1/36} = \dfrac{3}{52} \times \dfrac{36}{1} = \dfrac{108}{52} = \dfrac{27}{13}

Therefore, Bottle 1 : Bottle 2 = 27 : 13

Answer: 27:13

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