Question

A 60 gallon rain barrel has a small hole in the bottom of it. Every hour it loses 2 gallons of water. How many hours has the barrel been leaking if there are 35 gallons left in it?

Answer 1

Assuming that it is full from the start. The water is leaking for 12.5 hours

the equation is

60-2x = 35

where x is the time of leaking in hours

-2x = 35-60

x = (35-60)/(-2)

x = 12.5