Question

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? simplify the steps

Answer 1

To find out how long it will take for the fish to reach a depth of -37.8 meters, follow these steps:

1. **Determine the starting depth and the target depth:**
- Starting depth: -10.8 meters
- Target depth: -37.8 meters

2. **Calculate the total depth change required:**
\[
\text{Depth change} = \text{Target depth} - \text{Starting depth}
\]
\[
\text{Depth change} = -37.8 - (-10.8) = -37.8 + 10.8 = -27.0 \text{ meters}
\]

3. **Determine how fast the fish is descending:**
- The fish descends 1.5 meters every 2 minutes.

4. **Calculate how many 1.5 meter descents are needed to reach -37.8 meters:**
\[
\text{Number of descents} = \frac{\text{Depth change}}{\text{Descent per interval}} = \frac{-27.0}{-1.5} = 18
\]

5. **Calculate the total time required:**
- Since each descent takes 2 minutes:
\[
\text{Total time} = \text{Number of descents} \times \text{Time per descent} = 18 \times 2 = 36 \text{ minutes}
\]

So, it will take the fish **36 minutes** to reach a depth of -37.8 meters.