How many gallons per minute leak out of container B?

Graph:
points 400 , 25and 100, 50
going down

1 answer

To determine how many gallons per minute leak out of container B, we will need to analyze the coordinates you provided: (400, 25) and (100, 50).

From these points, it seems that you're describing a linear relationship between time (on the x-axis) and the volume of liquid remaining in container B (on the y-axis).

To find the leak rate in gallons per minute, we can find the slope of the line represented by these two points. The slope \((m)\) can be calculated using the formula:

\[ m = \frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1} \]

With your points:

  • Point 1: \( (x_1, y_1) = (400, 25) \)
  • Point 2: \( (x_2, y_2) = (100, 50) \)

Now we plug in those values:

\[ m = \frac{50 - 25}{100 - 400} = \frac{25}{-300} = -\frac{1}{12} \]

The negative sign indicates that the volume is decreasing over time, which fits with the context of a leak.

Now, since the slope represents the change in gallons per minute, we convert it to a leak rate:

\[ \text{Leak rate} = -m = \frac{1}{12} \text{ gallons per minute} \]

This means that container B is leaking approximately 0.0833 gallons per minute (or 1/12 of a gallon per minute).