Question

A butler stole wine from a butt of sherry which contained 30% of spirit and he replaced what he had stolen by wine containing only 12% of spirit. The butt was then 18% strong only. How much of the butt did he steal?

• A. $\frac{1}{3}$
• B. $\frac{2}{5}$
• C. $\frac{2}{3}$
• D. $\frac{4}{7}$

Answer 1

The correct option is C $\frac{2}{3}$

By the alligation rule, we find that wine containing 30% of spirit and wine containing 12% of spirit should be mixed in the ratio 1:2 to produce a mixture containing18% of spirit.

Ratio = 6: 12 = 1:2
this means that $\frac{1}{3}$ rd of the butt of sherry was left, i.e. to say, the butler frew out $\frac{2}{3}$rd of the butt.
$\therefore$ $\frac{2}{3}$ rd of the butt was stolen.