Question

During a rainstorm, a pail collects 1/3 of an inch of water in 5/6 of a minute. At what rate is the pail collecting water

Answer 1

To determine the rate at which the pail is collecting water, we can divide the amount of water collected by the time it took to collect that water.

Given:
- Water collected: \( \frac{1}{3} \) inch
- Time taken: \( \frac{5}{6} \) minutes

The rate \( R \) can be calculated using the formula:

\[
R = \frac{\text{Water collected}}{\text{Time taken}}
\]

Substituting the given values:

\[
R = \frac{\frac{1}{3} \text{ inch}}{\frac{5}{6} \text{ minutes}}
\]

To divide by a fraction, we multiply by its reciprocal:

\[
R = \frac{1}{3} \times \frac{6}{5}
\]

Now, multiply the fractions:

\[
R = \frac{1 \times 6}{3 \times 5} = \frac{6}{15} = \frac{2}{5} \text{ inches per minute}
\]

Thus, the rate at which the pail is collecting water is \( \frac{2}{5} \) inches per minute.