Question:medium

A glass is initially filled entirely with milk. In each step, \(\frac{2}{3}\) of the milk is replaced with water. This process is repeated 3 times. What is the final ratio of water to milk in the glass?

Updated On: Jan 12, 2026
  • \(1 : 27\)
  • \(1 : 20\)
  • \(1 : 26\)
  • \(26 : 1\)
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

Initially, the glass contains only milk. Let the initial amount of milk be \( M = 1 \). In the first step, \(\frac{2}{3}\) of the milk is removed and replaced with water.

The amount of milk remaining after step 1 is:

\[ M_1 = M - \frac{2}{3}M = \frac{1}{3}M \]

Water added = \(\frac{2}{3}\).

In the second step, \(\frac{2}{3}\) of the current mixture (which contains both milk and water) is removed and replaced with water. This means \(\frac{2}{3}\) of the *milk* is removed.

Remaining milk after step 2:

\[ M_2 = \frac{1}{3} M_1 = \frac{1}{3} \times \frac{1}{3} M = \frac{1}{9} M \]

Water added in step 2 = \(\frac{2}{3}\) of the total volume. Since the total volume is still 1, we can compute the amount of water added in step 2 as follows:

Water removed = \(\frac{2}{3}\) of the remaining milk, i.e., \(\frac{2}{3} \times M_1\). Therefore, the remaining milk is \(\frac{1}{3} M_1\). The amount of water added in step 2 is \(\frac{2}{3}\) of the total volume, which is 1.

For clarity, the remaining milk is reduced by a factor of \(\frac{1}{3}\) each time, leading to the equation for step 2:

\[ M_2 = \frac{1}{3} M_1 = \frac{1}{9} M \]

In the third step, \(\frac{2}{3}\) of the current milk is again replaced with water:

Remaining milk after step 3:

\[ M_3 = \frac{1}{3} M_2 = \frac{1}{3} \times \frac{1}{9} M = \frac{1}{27} M \]

The total amount of water in the glass is the initial volume (1) minus the final amount of milk (\(\frac{1}{27}\)).

Water added = \(1 - \frac{1}{27} = \frac{26}{27}\).

The final ratio of water to milk is:

\[ \frac{\frac{26}{27}}{\frac{1}{27}} = 26:1 \]
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