Word Problem with ratios

 A lab technician has one batch of antiseptic that is 33% alcohol

(we say the concentration is 33%) and another that is 67%
alcohol. She would like to make 10 liters of solution that is 50%.
How many liters of each batch should she use?

Step1: Figure out what the words mean

 For fluids, “concentration” is defined as
Concentration = (Volume of stuff)/(Total Volume of all fluid)

Notice that Concentration is a ratio, so it has no units. So the

definition of concentration must have the same units in the
numerator and denominator

The above equation can be re-arranged

(Total Volume of fluid)(concentration)=(Volume of stuff)

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 Try it yourself
 A nurse wants to add water to 30 liters of 33% solution of
benzalkonium chloride (BC) to dilute it to a 25% solution. How
much water must she add?

 Hint: The Volume of BC does not change by adding water.

 Hint: some percentages are easily converted to simple fractions

A) 1 liter B) 5 liters C) 10 liters. D) 20 liters

E) none of the previous answers is correct

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 Example from Quiz
Two high school students are preparing a fruit punch to collect
funds for their trip to Lake Tahoe. The fruit punch is a mixture of
pineapple juice that costs $5.00 per 1 liter, and cranberry juice
which costs $3 per 1 liter. How many liters of pineapple and
cranberry juice they have to mix to make 10 liters of fruit punch
which costs $0.8 per 0.25 liter (1 glass)?

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 More ratiometric problems
 Suppose I paint a wall in 10 hours, and you and I paint a wall in
2 hours. How much faster do you paint a wall?

Step 1: Figure out what the words mean

 Faster refers to the rate that each of us an paint a wall. You are
faster, if your rate is larger than mine. In this problem, the rate
is a ratio, and defined as

 Rate = (area of wall painted)/(time required to paint)

 This rate definition has units of m2/hr
 If you are 3 times faster, we mean that your rate is 3 times
larger than mine, or (Your rate)=3(My rate)
 As in the previous example, the rate equation can be re-written
 (Rate)(time)= (Area)

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 Painting a wall-2
 Step 2: Figure out what is known, label it, and figure out what is
wanted, label it

 Time for Physics Prof to paint wall, t1 = 10 hr

 Time for both people to paint wall, t2 =2 hr

 Rate that Physics Prof paints, R1

 Rate that you paint, R2
 Want the ratio R2/R1=f, so we really do NOT need R1 or R2
separately.

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 Painting a wall - 3
 Step 3, use logic and mathematics

 What remains the same between the two situations described in

the problem? The area of the wall. Call it A.

 Situation 1: (R1)(t1) = (area of wall)=A

R1*(10 hr) =A
 Situation 2: (R1)(t2)+(R2)(t2) = A
(R1+R2)(2) =A
So (R1+R2)(2) = (R1)(10)

Do Algebra to get R1 = (1/4) R2

f= R2/R1=4 ( you paint 4 times faster than me)

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 Word problem 4
M and J want to make money over the
summer mowing lawns. M can mow twice as
fast as J and J can mow a 10 m2 lawn in 10
minutes. How long will M and J working
together take to mow a 300 m2 lawn?
A: 100 minutes
B: 300 minutes
C: 50 minutes
D: 200 minutes
E: 150 minutes

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 Word problem 5
You pour two full bottles of 1% milk and one
full bottle of 2% milk into a container. You
have one full bottle of 2% milk left in the
fridge. How much of that bottle must you use
to make your very own 1.4% milk? (Assume
each bottle of milk weighs the same.)
A: 1/2
B: 1/4
C: 2/5
D: 1/3
E: Cannot make 1.4% milk even if the full
bottle is used
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 Word problem 6
M can mop a floor three times as fast as J
and 1.5 times faster than K. Working together
they mop this floor in 10 mins. How fast can
M mop the floor by himself?
A: in 20 mins
B: in 21 mins
C: in 22 mins
D: in 23 mins
E: in 24 mins

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 Word problem 7
A contractor requires a cement mix that is
70% sand and 30% cement. He has 1400 kg
of a cement mix that is 80% sand and 20%
cement. How much cement should he add so
that he gets the required mix?
A: 50 kg
B: 100 kg
C: 150 kg
D: 200 kg
E: 250 kg

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 Word problem 8
Joe loves Cheerios cereal. However, he has
a problem -- he needs exactly 25 cheerios
pieces in 100 mL of milk. He pours himself a
bowl and finds out that there are 35 cheerios
and 110 mL of milk in the bowl. How much
milk or how many cheerios (either milk or
cheerios but not both) must he add to eat?

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 Word problem 9
 You have small sculptures made of copper and gold.
The first sculpture has 5% gold while the second one
has 10% gold. The first sculpture has twice the mass
of the second one. You melt both, extract the gold
and you make a ring of pure gold that is 10 g. What is
the mass of the lighter sculpture?

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 Example from Quiz
 M can run 3 miles in the time it takes J to run 2 miles and K to
run 1 mile. M, J and K take part in a long distance relay where
each person runs 1 mile. They finish the race in 33 minutes.
How long does J take to run ONE mile?

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 Word problem 10
Joe starts from his home at 5 PM. He runs 2
miles at a constant pace and then rests for 10
minutes. He then walks 3 miles at half the
pace that he runs. When he finishes the walk,
the time is 6:30 PM. How much time does he
take to run a mile?

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 Word problem 11
M and J get into a fight about who can mop
their living room floor faster. J has just
mopped the floor in 24 mins. M and J
together mopped the floor last week in 8
mins. How long will it take for M to mop the
floor by herself?
A : 24 mins
B : 20 mins
C : 16 mins
D : 12 mins
E : 8 mins
 Example from a Final Exam

Carrie is twice as old as Jean. Five years ago, Carrie was

three times as old as Jean.
How old is Carrie today?
a) 5 years
b) 10 years
c) 20 years
d) 12 years
e) 8 years

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