Problema Solution

A pharmacist needs to obtain a 70% alcohol solution. How many ounces of a 30% alcohol solution must be mixed with 40 ounces of an 80% alcohol solution to obtain a 70% alcohol solution?

Answer provided by our tutors

concentration = pure alcohol / total volume


we have 40 oz of 80% solution, which means we have this much pure alcohol:

40 * 0.8 = 32


we want a 70% solution, so we add 'v' ounces of a 30%:

0.70 = (32+0.3v)/(40+v)

solving for 'v' we have v=10


the pharmacist should add 10 ounces of the 30% solution