SOLUTION: The manager of a farmer's market has 500 lb of grain that costs $1.70 per pound. How many pounds of meal costing $0.80 per pound should be mixed with the 500 lb of grain to produce
Algebra ->
Customizable Word Problem Solvers
-> Mixtures
-> SOLUTION: The manager of a farmer's market has 500 lb of grain that costs $1.70 per pound. How many pounds of meal costing $0.80 per pound should be mixed with the 500 lb of grain to produce
Log On
Question 1102933: The manager of a farmer's market has 500 lb of grain that costs $1.70 per pound. How many pounds of meal costing $0.80 per pound should be mixed with the 500 lb of grain to produce a mixture that costs $1.55 perpound? Found 2 solutions by greenestamps, josgarithmetic:Answer by greenestamps(13203) (Show Source):
The method of alligation will get you to the answer fastest. It looks like this for your problem:
The numbers in the first column are the price per pound of the grain and meal; the number in the middle column is the price per pound of the mixture.
The numbers in the third column are the differences, computed diagonally, between the numbers in the first and second columns: 1.70-1.55 = .15; 1.55-.80 = .75.
The method of alligation says the grain and meal must be mixed in the ratio shown by the numbers in the third column. That ratio is .75:.15 = 5:1.
So the grain and meal need to be mixed in the ratio 5:1. Since there are 500 lb of the grain, you need 100 lb of the meal.
(