Question

The capacity of a small children’s swimming pool is 106 gallons of water. There are currently 15 gallons of water in the pool. You are filling the pool at a rate of 2 gallons per minute.

1. Write an equation that gives the amount y (in gallons) of water in the pool as a function of the number x minutes from now.
2. After how many minutes will the pool be full?

Answer 1

1. y=2x+15

2. 45.5 min

Explanation:

1. You find 2x by looking at the give rate of gallons (2) a min (x). This information is given in the word problem. This gives the equation of y=2x. But you already have 15 gallons in the pool, so you need to add the +15 at the end of the equation giving you y=2x+15.

2. Y is the total gallons. This is 106 gallons (given in the word problem). We are trying to solve for x (# of minutes to fill the pool). 106=2x+15. subtract 15 from both sides giving 91=2x. Divide both sides by 2 giving x=45.5. It will take 45.5 minutes to fill up the pool.