Sharjeel has a container which has a mixture of wine and water in it. Wine and water are in the ratio 4:1. Sharjeel spills some of the mixture by accident. He then replaces the spilled amount with water of same quantity. But now the wine to water ratio became 3:2. How much water did Sharjeel add?
Correct answer: C. 1/4
- A. 3/5
- B. 1/2
- C. 1/4
- D. 2/7
Explanation
Take the original mixture as 1 unit, containing 4/5 unit of wine and 1/5 unit of water. If x units are spilled and replaced with water, wine becomes 4(1 - x)/5 and water becomes (1 + 4x)/5; setting their ratio to 3:2 gives 8(1 - x) = 3(1 + 4x), so x = 1/4. Therefore the added water is one-fourth of the original mixture. The likely mistake is option b, 1/2, from assuming that half the mixture must be replaced to change 4:1 to 3:2.
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