A dishonest milkman professes to sell his milk at cost price but he mixes it with water and thereby gains 25%. The percentage of water in the mixture is:

• A. 6¼%
• B. 25%
• C. 4%
• D. 20%

Answer: (D)

Let C.P. of 1 litre milk be Re. 1 Then, S.P. of 1 litre of mixture = Re. 1, Gain = 25%. C.P. of 1 litre mixture = Re. ❨ 100 x 1 ❩ = 4 125 5 By the rule of alligation, we have: C.P. of 1 litre of milk C.P. of 1 litre of water Re. 1 Mean PriceRe. 4 5 0 4 5 1 5 ∴ Ratio of milk to water = 4 : 1 = 4 : 1. 5 5 Hence, percentage of water in the mixture = ❨ 1 x 100 ❩% = 20%.