Mixture and concentration problems

Mixture and concentration problems involve combining substances with known concentrations to form a new mixture, and using algebra to find unknown quantities or concentrations. The key is to keep track of the amount of the substance of interest (like salt, sugar, or acid) in each part and in the total mixture.

Important properties

• The total amount of the substance in the mixture equals the sum of the amounts from each part.

• You can set up equations based on the total volume and the total amount of the substance.

• Concentration is usually given as a percentage or fraction: concentration = (amount of substance) / (total amount of mixture).

• If water is added or removed, only the total amount changes, not the amount of the substance.