Ella has 0.5 lbs of sugar. How much water should she add to make the following concentrations? Tell Ella how much syrup she will have in each case. 20%, 75% and 5% syrup?

1) 2 lbs

2) 0.17 lbs

3) 9.5 lbs

Step-by-step explanation:

Amount of sugar Ella has = 0.5 lbs

Let the amount of water she adds to make the solution = x lbs

So total amount of the mixture would be = (x + 0.5) lbs

Case 1: 20% syrup

20% syrup means the sugar percentage in the mixture should be 20% of the entire mixture. So, 0.5 should be 20% of (x + 0.5). In equation form this can be written as:

0.5 = 20% of (x + 0.5)

0.5 = 0.2 (x + 0.5)

Dividing both sides by 0.2, we get:

2.5 = x + 0.5

x = 2 lbs

This means, 2 lbs of water should be added to make 20% syrup solution. So, total syrup she would have will be 2.5 lbs.

Case 2: 75% syrup

75% syrup means the sugar percentage in the mixture should be 75% of the entire mixture. So, 0.5 should be 75% of (x + 0.5). In equation form this can be written as:

0.5 = 75% of (x + 0.5)

0.5 = 0.75 (x + 0.5)

Dividing both sides by 0.75, we get:

0.67 = x + 0.5

x = 0.17 lbs

This means, 0.17 lbs of water should be added to make 75% syrup solution. So, total syrup she would have will be 0.67 lbs.

Case 3: 5% syrup

5% syrup means the sugar percentage in the mixture should be 5% of the entire mixture. So, 0.5 should be 5% of (x + 0.5). In equation form this can be written as:

0.5 = 5% of (x + 0.5)

0.5 = 0.05 (x + 0.5)

Dividing both sides by 0.05, we get:

10 = x + 0.5

x = 9.5 lbs

This means, 9.5 lbs of water should be added to make 5% syrup solution. So, total syrup she would have will be 10 lbs.