Multiple choice

A man buys spirit at Rs. 60 per litre, adds water to it and sells it at Rs. 75 per litre. What is the ratio of spirit to water in the mixture, if his profit in the deal is 37.5%? (Assume that the cost of water is Rs. 0.)

  1. 9 : 1

  2. 10 : 1

  3. 11 : 1

  4. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Let the cost price of spirit be 60 and water be 0. Selling price is 75 with 37.5% profit, so cost price of mixture is 75 / 1.375 = 54.54. Using the allegation rule, the ratio of spirit to water is (54.54 - 0) / (60 - 54.54) = 54.54 / 5.46, which is approximately 10:1.

AI explanation

With a cost price of Rs. 60 per litre for pure spirit and a target profit of 37.5%, the required selling price for the pure spirit alone would be 60 multiplied by 1.375, equaling Rs. 82.5 per litre. Since the mixture is sold at Rs. 75 per litre, the ratio of spirit to water is found by equating 82.5 times the spirit fraction to 75, making the spirit fraction 10 over 11. The water fraction is 1 over 11, making the required ratio of spirit to water 10 to 1.

Keep practicing — related questions