SOLUTION: A chemist has two large containers of sulfuric acid solution, with different concentrations of acid in each container. Blending 300 mL of the first solution and 600 mL of the seco

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Question 323379: A chemist has two large containers of sulfuric acid solution, with different concentrations of acid in each container. Blending 300 mL of the first solution and 600 mL of the second gives a mixture that is 15% acid, whereas 100mL of the first mixed with 500 mL of the second gives a 12 1/2% acid mixture. What are the concentrations of sulfuric acid in the original containers?
Answer by Fombitz(32388) About Me  (Show Source):
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Let A be the concentration of the first container, B the second container.
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300A%2B600B=900%2815%29=13500
1.3A%2B6B=135
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100A%2B500B=600%2812.5%29=7500
2.A%2B5B=75
Multiply eq. 2 by (-3) and add to eq. 1 to eliminate A.
3A%2B6B-3A-15B=135-225
-9B=-90
highlight%28B=10%29
Then from eq. 2,
A%2B50=75
highlight%28A=25%29
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The first container is a 25% solution and the second container is a 10% solution.