MATHEMATICS CHALLENGE FOR YOUNG AUSTRALIANS INTERMEDIATE: YEARS 9 and 10 WARM UP PROBLEM 01: SOLUTIONS

Love Potion

1. Represent quantities diagrammatically as if they are unmixed:

Honey Indian Ink

Honey 50 mL Indian Ink 160 mL

Extra Indian Ink

Turpentine 140 mL Required Mix Fig. 1

Turpentine

Mix with extra Indian Ink Fig. 2

MCYA Intermediate 1 Solution Page 2

Honey Indian Ink 160 mL Honey Indian Ink Honey poured back in to make 50 mL as in Fig 1.

Turpentine

Turpentine

Turpentine poured back in to make 140 mL as in Fig 1

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Pour out proportional amounts (allowing for mixing) so that 160 mL of Indian Ink remains

From Fig. 4, the honey and turpentine mix poured back in is in the ratio 210:140 or 3:2. 2. If 70 mL of the initial mixture goes down the sink, then 70 mL is replaced, being a honey and turpentine mixture in the ratio 3:2. So 3 (70) = 42 mL is honey and 5 the remaining 28 mL is turpentine. It follows that 28 mL of turpentine was wasted initially and the remaining 42 mL that went down the sink was a mixture of Indian ink and honey. Refer to Figs. 3 and 4 from 1. again. After Griselda has poured some of the mixture down the sink, let x mL be the amount of honey remaining, y mL be the amount of honey wasted and z mL be the amount of Indian ink wasted.

MCYA Intermediate 1 Solution Page 3 From above, we have y + z = 42. Also, x + y + z is equal to the amount of honey present after replacement, so x + y + z = 50. Thus x = 8. Quantities were poured out proportionally when the potion was mixed. So we have: 160 160 z = = = 20, y x 8 so z = 20y . Also, y + z = 42 so z = 42 y . Thus, 42 y = 20y , giving 21y = 42 and so y = 2. Then z = 40. Thus, 2 mL of honey, 40 mL of Indian ink and 28 mL of turpentine were wasted. c 2005 Australian Mathematics Trust