Question

A scientist has acid solutions with concentrations of 4% and 15%. He wants to mix some of each solution to get 44 milliliters of solution with a 12% concentration. How many milliliters of each solution does he need to mix together?​

Answer 1

Let x and y be the amounts (in mL) of the 4% and 15% solutions, respectively, that the scientist needs to use.

He wants to end up with a 44 mL solution, so

x + y = 44 mL

Each milliliter of 4% solution contains 0.04 mL of acid, while each mL of 15% contains 0.15 mL of acid. The resulting solution should have a concentration of 12%, so that each mL of it contains 0.12 mL of acid. Then the solution will contain

0.04x + 0.15y = 0.12 × (44 mL) = 5.28 mL

of acid.

Solve for x and y. In the first equation, we have y = 44 mL - x, and substituting into the second equation gives

0.04x + 0.15 (44 mL - x) = 5.28 mL

0.04x + 6.6 mL - 0.15x = 5.28 mL

1.32 mL = 0.19x

x ≈ 6.95 mL

==>   y ≈ 37.05 mL