Shiva purchases 280 kg of rice at ₹15.60 per kg and mixes it with 120 kg of rice purchased at ₹14.40 per kg. He sells the entire mixture and wants to earn a profit of ₹10.45 per kg on the mixture.\nWhat should be the selling price of the mixed rice per kg to achieve this exact profit?

Introduction:
This problem combines weighted average cost (mixture cost price per kg) with a fixed profit per kg. Instead of a profit percentage, the profit is given directly as rupees per kg, so after finding the mixture cost per kg, we simply add the desired profit amount per kg to get the selling price.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Rice 1: 280 kg at ₹15.60 per kg
• Rice 2: 120 kg at ₹14.40 per kg
• Total quantity = 400 kg
• Profit required = ₹10.45 per kg

Concept / Approach:
Compute total cost of both purchases, divide by total kg to get CP per kg. Then: SP per kg = CP per kg + profit per kg.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Cost of 280 kg = 280 * 15.60 = 4368.00Cost of 120 kg = 120 * 14.40 = 1728.00Total cost = 4368.00 + 1728.00 = 6096.00Total quantity = 280 + 120 = 400 kgCP per kg = 6096.00 / 400 = 15.24SP per kg = 15.24 + 10.45 = 25.69

Verification / Alternative Check:
If CP per kg is ₹15.24, then earning ₹10.45 profit per kg means SP must be ₹25.69. Multiplying back: total profit = 10.45 * 400 = ₹4180, which is consistent as an added profit target on the whole stock.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
₹22.18: adds too little profit per kg compared to ₹10.45.₹26.94 and ₹27.54: imply higher profit per kg than required.₹24.85: still short of the required profit amount.

Common Pitfalls:
Using a simple average of rates instead of weighting by quantities.Treating ₹10.45 as a percentage profit instead of rupees per kg.Computing profit on total cost and then dividing incorrectly.

Final Answer:
₹25.69 per kg