A fish is swimming at -10.8 meters, or 10.8 meters below sea level. Every 2 minutes it descends another 1.5 meters. How long will it take for the fish to reach a depth of -37.8 meters

Answer 1

To find out how long it will take for the fish to reach a depth of -37.8 meters, we can set up an equation.

Let's call the total time it takes for the fish to reach -37.8 meters as "t" minutes.

We know that every 2 minutes, the fish descends 1.5 meters. So, in "t" minutes, the fish descends a total of (t/2) * 1.5 meters.

The initial depth of the fish is -10.8 meters. Adding the total descent in "t" minutes to this initial depth, we get:

-10.8 + (t/2) * 1.5 = -37.8

Multiplying through by 2 to eliminate the fraction:

-21.6 + 1.5t = -75.6

Adding 21.6 to both sides to isolate the variable:

1.5t = -54

Dividing both sides by 1.5 to solve for "t":

t = -54 / 1.5

t ≈ -36

Since time cannot be negative in this context, we can conclude that it will take the fish approximately 36 minutes to reach a depth of -37.8 meters.