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There are two containers of the same volume, first container half-filled with sugar syrup and the second container half-filled with milk. Half the content of the first container is transferred to the second container, and then the half of this mixture is transferred back to the first container. Next, half the content of the first container is transferred back to the second container. Then the ratio of sugar syrup and milk in the second container is

Solution

✅ Correct Option: 3

We have two identical containers doing a series of transfers. We track what happens to our sugar syrup and milk!

We say each container has volume 16x. We choose 16x because we'll be taking "half" multiple times, and 16 divides nicely: 16 → 8 → 4 → 2 → 1. This prevents messy fractions!


Initial State:

  • Container 1: Half-filled with sugar syrup = 8x sugar syrup
  • Container 2: Half-filled with milk = 8x milk
ContainerSugar SyrupMilkTotal
1st8x08x
2nd08x8x

Transfer 1: Half of Container 1 → Container 2

What we transfer: Half of 8x = 4x sugar syrup

ContainerSugar SyrupMilkTotal
1st8x - 4x = 4x04x
2nd0 + 4x = 4x8x12x

Transfer 2: Half of Container 2 → Container 1

Container 2 now has a mixture of sugar syrup and milk!

Mixture ratio in Container 2: Sugar syrup : Milk = 4x : 8x = 1 : 2

What we transfer: Half of 12x = 6x total

Since ratio is 1:2, out of every 3 parts, 1 is sugar syrup and 2 is milk

Sugar syrup transferred = 6x × 13\frac{1}{3} = 2x

Milk transferred = 6x × 23\frac{2}{3} = 4x

ContainerSugar SyrupMilkTotal
1st4x + 2x = 6x0 + 4x = 4x10x
2nd4x - 2x = 2x8x - 4x = 4x6x

Transfer 3: Half of Container 1 → Container 2

Mixture ratio in Container 1: Sugar syrup : Milk = 6x : 4x = 3 : 2

What we transfer: Half of 10x = 5x total

Since ratio is 3:2, out of every 5 parts, 3 is sugar syrup and 2 is milk

Sugar syrup transferred = 5x × 35\frac{3}{5} = 3x

Milk transferred = 5x × 25\frac{2}{5} = 2x

ContainerSugar SyrupMilkTotal
1st6x - 3x = 3x4x - 2x = 2x5x
2nd2x + 3x = 5x4x + 2x = 6x11x

Ratio of sugar syrup to milk in Container 2:

5x : 6x = 5 : 6


Key insights:

Volume Choice Strategy: Choose volumes that divide evenly to avoid fractions

Mixture Transfer Rule: When transferring from a mixture, maintain the same ratio as the source

Systematic Tracking: Use tables to avoid calculation errors in multi-step problems

This systematic approach works for any number of transfers - just keep tracking the ratios!

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