Solve the following w word problem. 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? Show ur work an write a sentence to explain what ur answer means

1 answer

To determine how long it will take for the fish to reach a depth of -37.8 meters, we first need to find the total depth the fish needs to descend.

Step 1: Calculate the total descent required.
The fish starts at -10.8 meters and needs to reach -37.8 meters.

Total descent = Final depth - Initial depth
Total descent = -37.8 meters - (-10.8 meters)
Total descent = -37.8 + 10.8
Total descent = -27.0 meters

So, the fish needs to descend 27.0 meters.

Step 2: Determine how many descents of 1.5 meters the fish will make.
The fish descends 1.5 meters every 2 minutes.

Number of descents = Total descent / Depth per descent
Number of descents = 27.0 meters / 1.5 meters
Number of descents = 18

Step 3: Calculate the total time taken for those descents.
Since each descent takes 2 minutes, the total time taken is:

Total time = Number of descents × Time per descent
Total time = 18 descents × 2 minutes/descent
Total time = 36 minutes

Final Answer:
It will take the fish 36 minutes to reach a depth of -37.8 meters.

Explanation:
This means that after 36 minutes of continuous descent, the fish will be at a depth of -37.8 meters, which is 27 meters deeper than its starting point of -10.8 meters below sea level.