CAT Averages & Mixtures questions (2017–2025) — actual Quant questions with solutions
48 real CAT Averages & Mixtures questions from CAT 2017 to CAT 2025, each with options, the verified answer and a step-by-step solution. Practice one topic at a
48 real CAT questions · CAT 2017–2025 · 1 Easy · 2 Medium
Vessels A and B contain 60 litres of alcohol and 60 litres of water, respectively. A certain volume is taken out from A and poured into B. After mixing well, an equal volume is taken out from B and poured into A. If the ratio of alcohol and water in A is 15:4, then the volume, in litres, initially taken out from A, is [TITA]
A mixture of coffee and cocoa, 16% of which is coffee, costs Rs 240 per kg. Another mixture of coffee and cocoa, of which 36% is coffee, costs Rs 320 per kg. If a new mixture of coffee and cocoa costs Rs 376 per kg, then the quantity, in kg, of coffee in 10 kg of this new mixture is
The average number of copies of a book sold per day by a shopkeeper is 60 in the initial seven days and 63 in the initial eight days, after the book launch. On the ninth day, she sells 11 copies less than the eighth day, and the average number of copies sold per day from second day to ninth day becomes 66. The number of copies sold on the first day of the book launch is ____
Average Problem
The average of three distinct real numbers is 28. If the smallest number is increased by 7 and the largest number is reduced by 10, the order of the numbers remains unchanged, and the new arithmetic mean becomes 2 more than the middle number, while the difference between the largest and the smallest numbers becomes 64. Then, the largest number in the original set of three numbers is _____
Milk and Water
A 300 litre container. Water x litres, rest milk. Remove 2x litres solution, refill water. Final solution 72% milk. Find x.
Averages + Equations
There are four numbers such that average of first two numbers is 1 more than the first number, average of first three numbers is 2 more than average of first two numbers, and average of first four numbers is 3 more than average of first three numbers. Then, the difference between the largest and the smallest numbers, is ________ TITA
Interactive Quiz: Milk and Water Ratio
A glass is filled with milk. Two-thirds of its content is poured out and replaced with water. If this process of pouring out two-thirds the content and replacing with water is repeated three more times, then the final ratio of milk to water in the glass is:
A vessel contains an acid-water solution. After adding 2 litres water and then 15 litres acid, concentrations change from 50% to 80%. Find the original water:acid ratio.
In 2022, average bonus of first 30 employees was Rs. 40,000; last 30 was Rs. 60,000; first and last 10 combined was Rs. 50,000. In 2023, first 10 doubled, last 10 tripled. Find average bonus in 2023.
The average of three distinct real numbers is 28. If the smallest number is increased by 7 and the largest number is reduced by 10, the order remains unchanged. The new mean is 2 more than the middle number and the new difference between largest and smallest is 64. Find the largest original number.
A 300-litre container is partially filled with water, rest milk. Twice the water is removed, then refilled with water. Final mix is 72% milk. How much water was initially added?
A glass is filled with milk. Two-thirds of its content is poured out and replaced with water. If this process of pouring out two-thirds the content and replacing with water is repeated three more times, then the final ratio of milk to water in the glass is.
There are four numbers such that average of first two numbers is 1 more than the first number, average of first three numbers is 2 more than average of first two numbers, and average of first four numbers is 3 more than average of first three numbers. Then, the difference between the largest and the smallest numbers is
A container has 40 liters of milk. Then, 4 liters are removed from the container and replaced with 4 liters of water. This process of replacing 4 liters of the liquid in the container with an equal volume of water is continued repeatedly. The smallest number of times of doing this process, after which the volume of milk in the container becomes less than that of water, is
A mixture P is formed by removing a certain amount of coffee from a coffee jar and replacing it with cocoa powder. The same process is repeated to form mixture Q. If the ratio of coffee and cocoa in the mixture Q is 16:9, then the ratio of cocoa in mixture P to that in mixture Q is:
In an examination, the average marks of students in sections A and B are 32 and 60, respectively. The number of students in section A is 10 less than that in section B. If the average marks of all the students across both the sections combined is an integer, then the difference between the maximum and minimum possible number of students in section A is
Consider six distinct natural numbers such that the average of the two smallest numbers is 14, and the average of the two largest numbers is 28. Then, the maximum possible value of the average of these six numbers is
A glass contains 500 cc of milk and a cup contains 500 cc of water. From the glass, 150 cc of milk is transferred to the cup and mixed thoroughly. Next, 150 cc of this mixture is transferred from the cup to the glass. Now, the amount of water in the glass and the amount of milk in the cup are in the ratio
Manu earns ₹4000 per month and wants to save an average of ₹550 per month in a year. In the first nine months, his monthly expense was ₹3500, and he foresees that, tenth month onward, his monthly expense will increase to ₹3700. In order to meet his yearly savings target, his monthly earnings, in rupees, from the tenth month onward should be
There are two containers of the same volume, first container half-filled with sugar syrup and the second container half-filled with milk. Half the content of the first container is transferred to the second container, and then the half of this mixture is transferred back to the first container. Next, half the content of the first container is transferred back to the second container. Then the ratio of sugar syrup and milk in the second container is
The average of three integers is 13 . When a natural number n is included, the average of these four integers remains an odd integer. The minimum possible value of n is
A mixture contains lemon juice and sugar syrup in equal proportion. If a new mixture is created by adding this mixture and sugar syrup in the ratio 1 : 3, then the ratio of lemon juice and sugar syrup in the new mixture is
If a certain weight of an alloy of silver and copper is mixed with 3 kg of pure silver, the resulting alloy will have 90% silver by weight. If the same weight of the initial alloy is mixed with 2 kg of another alloy which has 90% silver by weight, the resulting alloy will have 84% silver by weight. Then, the weight of the initial alloy, in kg, is
The arithmetic mean of scores of 25 students in an examination is 50. Five of these students top the examination with the same score. If the scores of the other students are distinct integers with the lowest being 30, then the maximum possible score of the toppers is
In a football tournament, a player has played a certain number of matches and 10 more matches are to be played. If he scores a total of one goal over the next 10 matches, his overall average will be 0.15 goals per match. On the other hand, if he scores a total of two goals over the next 10 matches, his overall average will be 0.2 goals per match. The number of matches he has played is
From a container filled with milk, 9 litres of milk are drawn and replaced with water. Next, from the same container, 9 litres are drawn and again replaced with water. If the volumes of milk and water in the container are now in the ratio of 16 : 9, then the capacity of the container, in litres, is
Onion is sold for 5 consecutive months at the rate of Rs 10, 20, 25, 25, and 50 per kg, respectively. A family spends a fixed amount of money on onion for each of the first three months, and then spends half that amount on onion for each of the next two months. The average expense for onion, in rupees per kg, for the family over these 5 months is closest to
The strength of an indigo solution in percentage is equal to the amount of indigo in grams per 100 cc of water. Two 800 cc bottles are filled with indigo solutions of strengths 33% and 17%, respectively. A part of the solution from the first bottle is thrown away and replaced by an equal volume of the solution from the second bottle. If the strength of the indigo solution in the first bottle has now changed to 21% then the volume, in cc, of the solution left in the second bottle is
Onion is sold for 5 consecutive months at the rates: ₹10, ₹20, ₹25, ₹25, ₹50 per kg. A family spends a fixed amount on onion for each of the first 3 months, and then spends half that amount on onion for each of the last 2 months. What is the average price per kg of onion for the family?
Dick is thrice as old as Tom and Harry is twice as old as Dick. If Dick's age is 1 year less than the average age of all three, then Harry's age, in years, is
A batsman played n + 2 innings and got out on all occasions. His average score in these n + 2 innings was 29 runs and he scored 38 and 15 runs in the last two innings. The batsman scored less than 38 runs in each of the first n innings. In these n innings, his average score was 30 runs and lowest score was x runs. The smallest possible value of x is
Two alcohol solutions, A and B, are mixed in the proportion 1:3 by volume. The volume of the mixture is then doubled by adding solution A such that the resulting mixture has 72% alcohol. If solution A has 60% alcohol, then the percentage of alcohol in solution B is
In a group of 10 students, the mean of the lowest 9 scores is 42 while the mean of the highest 9 scores is 47. For the entire group of 10 students, the maximum possible mean exceeds the minimum possible mean by
Let A, B and C be three positive integers such that the sum of A and the mean of B and C is 5. In addition, the sum of B and the mean of A and C is 7. Then the sum of A and B is
An alloy is prepared by mixing metals A, B, C in the proportion 3 : 4 : 7 by volume. Weights of the same volume of metals A, B, C are in the ratio 5 : 2 : 6. In 130 kg of the alloy, the weight, in kg, of the metal C is
The average of 30 integers is 5. Among these 30 integers, there are exactly 20 which do not exceed 5. What is the highest possible value of the average of these 20 integers?
The strength of a salt solution is p% if 100 ml of the solution contains p grams of salt. Each of three vessels A, B, C contains 500 ml of salt solution of strengths 10%, 22%, and 32%, respectively. Now, 100 ml of the solution in vessel A is transferred to vessel B. Then, 100 ml of the solution in vessel B is transferred to vessel C. Finally, 100 ml of the solution in vessel C is transferred to vessel A. The strength, in percentage, of the resulting solution in vessel A is
Ramesh and Gautam are among 22 students who write an examination. Ramesh scores 82.5. The average score of the 21 students other than Gautam is 62. The average score of all the 22 students is one more than the average score of the 21 students other than Ramesh. The score of Gautam is
A chemist mixes two liquids 1 and 2. One litre of liquid 1 weighs 1 kg and one litre of liquid 2 weighs 800 gm. If half litre of the mixture weighs 480 gm, then the percentage of liquid 1 in the mixture, in terms of volume, is
A 20% ethanol solution is mixed with another ethanol solution, say, S of unknown concentration in the proportion 1:3 by volume. This mixture is then mixed with an equal volume of 20% ethanol solution. If the resultant mixture is a 31.25% ethanol solution, then the unknown concentration of S is
A jar contains a mixture of 175 ml water and 700 ml alcohol. Gopal takes out 10% of the mixture and substitutes it by water of the same amount. The process is repeated once again. The percentage of water in the mixture is now
The strength of a salt solution is p% if 100 ml of the solution contains p grams of salt. If three salt solutions A, B, C are mixed in the proportion 1 : 2 : 3, then the resulting solution has strength 20%. If instead the proportion is 3 : 2 : 1, then the resulting solution has strength 30%. A fourth solution, D, is produced by mixing B and C in the ratio 2 : 7. The ratio of the strength of D to that of A is
A CAT aspirant appears for a certain number of tests. His average score increases by 1 if the first 10 tests are not considered, and decreases by 1 if the last 10 tests are not considered. If his average scores for the first 10 and the last 10 tests are 20 and 30, respectively, then the total number of tests taken by him is
In an apartment complex, the number of people aged 51 years and above is 30 and there are at most 39 people whose ages are below 51 years. The average age of all the people in the apartment complex is 38 years. What is the largest possible average age, in years, of the people whose ages are below 51 years?
A trader sells 10 litres of a mixture of paints A and B, where the amount of B in the mixture does not exceed that of A. The cost of paint A per litre is Rs. 8 more than that of paint B. If the trader sells the entire mixture for Rs. 264 and makes a profit of 10%, then the highest possible cost of paint B, in Rs. per litre, is
The average height of 22 toddlers increases by 2 inches when two of them leave this group. If the average height of these two toddlers is one-third the average height of the original 22, then the average height, in inches, of the remaining 20 toddlers is
Bottle 1 contains a mixture of milk and water in 7 : 2 ratio and Bottle 2 contains a mixture of milk and water in 9 : 4 ratio. In what ratio of volumes should the liquids in Bottle 1 and Bottle 2 be combined to obtain a mixture of milk and water in 3 : 1 ratio?
An elevator has a weight limit of 630 kg. It is carrying a group of people of whom the heaviest weighs 57 kg and the lightest weighs 53 kg. What is the maximum possible number of people in the group?
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