Averages and Mixtures

The average of a set of values is a measure of “central tendency”. Average is referred to as Arithmetic
Mean. This topic deals with averages, weighted averages and various types of problems which can be
solved using a method known as the “rule of allegation”, which makes it easier to solve such problems.

“Mixtures and solutions” is an important area in proportions. When 2 liquids or solids A and B are mixed
in a certain ratio x:y, every bit of the mixture will have A and B in the ratio x:y; it is impossible to take out
any part of the mixture in any other ratio.

When a third mixture is prepared using 2 mixtures which have A and B in the ratios x:1 and y:1 where x >
y, then the third mixture will have the ratio z:1 where x > z > y. In other words the fraction (or
percentage) of A in the third mixture will be in between the fractions (or percentages) of A in the 2
mixtures used to prepare the third mixture.

Rules on averages

1. If the value of each element in a group is increased or decreased by the same value, the average
of the group will also correspondingly increase or decrease by the same value.
2. If the value of each element in a group is multiplied or divided by the same value, the average of
the group will also correspondingly get multiplied or divided by the same value
3. Unless all the values in a group are equal, the average is greater than the lowest value and less
than the highest value in the group.
4. Suppose the average of a group is k. If another set of values with average > k is added to the
group, the effect of this addition to the group is to increase its average value. If a set of values
with average > k is removed from the group, the effect of this removal from the group is to
decrease its average value.
5. Suppose the average of a group is k. If another set of values with average < k is added to the
group, the effect of this addition to the group is to decrease its average value. If a set of values
with average < k is removed from the group, the effect of this removal from the group is to
increase its average value.
Shortcuts on calculating averages

1. If most of the values in a certain group are in the vicinity of a particular value k, calculate the
deviation of each value from this value (by subtracting k from each value) and find the average
of these deviations. The average value of the group is the average value of the deviations plus k.
2. The average value of an arithmetic progression is the average of the first term and the last term
of the progression. If the number of terms is odd, then the average value is equal to the middle
term. If the number of terms is even, then the average value is equal to the average of the two
middle terms.

Weighted average

Suppose you have 2 groups of values: group A of m values with average a and group B of n values with
average b. The average of all the values in both the groups is the following:

(ma + nb) / (m + n)

The average calculated as above is known as the weighted average of the averages a and b. Each
average is multiplied by its corresponding weight (which in this example is the number of values). The
sum of the products is divided by the sum of the weights.

The above expression is the same as a multiplied by [m/(m + n)] plus b multiplied by [n/(m + n)]. If we
know the ratio m : n, we can find the values m/(m + n) and n/(m + n). Thus a weighted average can be
calculated using the respective ratios as weights. For instance, if m : n is 3 : 5, the weighted average is {a
x 3/8 plus b x 5/8}.

If the average of values in each group is equal to a certain value k, then the weighted average is k; in this
situation, we do not need to know anything about the number of values.

If the number of values in each group is the same, then the weighted average is the simple average of
the averages.

All these facts are applicable to weighted average of 2 or more groups.

The rule of Alligation

You can think of a problem on weighted average as one of “mixing” substances. Some examples are
given below:

1. Mixing two varieties of wheat with different costs

2. Investing part of an amount at one rate of interest and the other part at different interest
3. Selling a certain quantity at a certain profit and the remaining quantity at a different profit
4. Travelling a certain distance at one speed and the remaining distance at another speed

The weighted average equation can be stated as follows:

c = (c1 x q1 + c2 x q2) / (q1 + q2)

c refers to the unit cost (meaning cost per unit quantity) of the mixture, obtained by mixing quantity q1
of unit cost c1 and quantity q2 of unit cost c2.

Please note that the meaning of the terms “cost” and “quantity” depends on the type of sum. For
instance, if one part of an amount is invested at one rate of interest and the other part at different
interest, the “cost” in this situation refers to the rate of interest and the “quantity” refers to amount
invested. In sums on time, speed and distance, “cost” refers to speed and “quantity” refers to time.

The above equation can be re-written as follows:

q1 / q2 = (c - c2) / (c1 – c)

Without loss of generality we can assume that c1 > c2. In other words we are taking the first part as the
costlier part and the second part as the cheaper part.

The above equation can be re-phrased as follows:

The ratio of the quantity of the costlier part to the quantity of the cheaper part is equal to the ratio of
(Difference between the average cost c and the lower cost c2) and (Difference between the higher cost
c1 and the average cost c)

This equation can be easily remembered in a pictorial way as follows:

c1 c2

c – c2 : c1 – c

q1 : q2

In this convention c1 represents the higher cost and c2 the lower cost, and q1 and q2 are the
corresponding quantities. The relation between c1, c2 and c is the inequality c1 > c > c2.
Exercises

1. A vendor sells adulterated milk at cost price and makes 30% profit. What is the percentage
of water added to the milk?
(1) 30% (2) 15% (3) 20% (4) 60%
2. In what ratio must a 1 : 4 mixture of water and milk be mixed with a 1 : 1 mixture, to obtain
a 2 : 3 mixture?
(1) 2 : 3 (2) 3 : 2 (3) 2 : 1 (4) 1 : 2
3. Vessel 1 has 100 cc of milk and vessel 2 has 100 cc of milk. 5 cc of water is transferred to
vessel 1, following which 5 cc from the mixture in vessel 1 is transferred to vessel 2. The
quantity of water in vessel 1 is which of the following?
(1) 5% more than quantity of milk in vessel 2
(2) 5% more than quantity of milk in vessel 2
(3) same as quantity of milk in vessel 2
(4) 10% more than quantity of milk in vessel 2

4. In what ratio should you mix a mixture of milk and water in the ratio 8 : 7 with a mixture of
milk and water in the ratio 5 : 9, to obtain a mixture in the ratio 1 : 1?
(1) 13 : 16 (2) 16 : 13 (3) 7 : 30 (4) 30 : 7

5. How many kg of tea at Rs.62.5 per kg must be added to 100 kg of tea at Rs.78 per kg, so that
33 1/3% profit is made by selling the mixture at Rs.94 per kg?

(1) 93.75 (2) 85.75 (3) 78.75 (4) 80

6. 100 kg of sugar is sold partly at 7% profit and the balance at 17% profit. The overall profit is
10%. What is the quantity in kg of sugar sold at 17% profit?

(1) 28 (2) 30 (3) 31 (4) 32

7. A person travels 80 km in 7 hours, of which the person travels partly at 8 km per hour and
partly at 16 km per hour. What is the distance in km travelled at 8 km per hour?
(1) 32 (2) 31 (3) 21 (4) 28
8. A person invests a part of Rs.2500 at 8% interest and the remaining amount at 6% interest.
The total interest for a year is Rs.180. What are the amounts invested at 8% and 6%?
(1) 1500, 1000 (2) 1800, 700 (3) 1750, 750 (4) 1250, 1250
9. A tea merchant buys 2 kinds of tea. The first kind costs twice the second. The selling price of
the mixture is Rs.17.50 per kg. The profit made is 25%. The ratio of mixing is 2 : 3. What are
the cost prices of the 2 kinds of tea?
(1) 20, 10 (2) 12, 17 (3) 17, 12 (4) 10, 20
10. Find the average of all even natural numbers up to 75.
(1) 35 (2) 36 (3) 38 (4) 34
 11. The population of a city increases by 10% and 15% successively in two years. What is the
average annual % increase over this period?
(1) 18% (2) 12.5% (3) 18.25% (4) 13.25%

12. The population of a city increases by 20%, 25% and 10% successively in three years. What is
the average annual % increase over this period?
(2) 18.54% (2) 21.66% (3) 20.5% (4) none of these

100 > 120 > 150 > 165  20+30+15=65/3 = 21.66

13. In what proportion must a quality of pulses costing Rs.24 per kg be mixed with another
costing Rs.33 per kg, such that by selling the mixture at Rs.30 per kg, a profit of 11 1/9% is
obtained?
(1) 3 : 1 (2) 3 : 2 (3) 2 : 1 (4) 4 : 3

14. A cosmetics company gives a total average salary of Rs.100 per person per day to its
salesmen and supervisors. The average salary of a salesman per day is Rs.85 and that of a
supervisor per day is Rs.160. The company employs 440 salesmen. What is the number of
supervisors employed?
(1) 100 (2) 125 (3) 110 (4) None of these
15. A single-refined oil contains 20% impurities. After double-refining it contains 4% impurities.
How much of double-refined oil can be obtained from 30 litres of single-refined oil?
(1) 24 litres (2) 24.8 litres (3) 25 litres (4) 25.5 litres

16. 2 vessels contain equal quantities of milk and water. 100 ml of milk is poured from the first
vessel into the second, following which 100 ml from the second vessel is poured into the
first vessel. If this procedure is repeated infinitely, what is the final ratio of milk and water in
the second vessel?
(1) 3 : 2 (2) 1 : 1 (3) 9 : 7 (4) None of these
17. To 20 litres of a milk solution having 24% milk, how many litres of water must be added to
make it a 20% solution of milk in water?
(1) 4 (2) 24 (3) 18 (4) 16

18. A person travels 360 km in 9 hours, part of it by car at 70 km per hour and the remaining on
scooter at 36 km per hour. What is the ratio of distances travelled on scooter and by car?

(1) 2 : 15 (2) 5 : 1 (3) 1 : 5 (4) 27 : 7

Answers to exercises

1. (1) 30%
2. (4) 1 : 2
3. (3) same as quantity of milk in vessel 2
4. (4) 30 : 7
5. (1) 93.75
6. (2) 30
7. (1) 32
8. (1) 1500, 1000
9. (1) 20, 10
10. (3) 38
11. (4) 13.25%
12. (2) 21.66%
13. (3) 2 : 1
14. (3) 110
15. (3) 25 litres
16. (2) 1 : 1
17. (1) 4
18. (4) 27 : 7