One afternoon, a news station in San Pablo reports that the temperature is 90°F and will drop by 2°F per hour. At the same time, a news station in Santa Rosa reports that the temperature is 97°F and will drop by 4°F per hour.

Question

Which equation can you use to find h, the number of hours it will take for the cities to reach the same temperature?

90-2h=97-4h

90+2h=97-4h

Answer 1

To find the number of hours \( h \) it will take for the temperatures in San Pablo and Santa Rosa to be the same, we can set up an equation based on the initial temperatures and their rates of change.

1. The temperature in San Pablo starts at 90°F and decreases by 2°F per hour, which can be represented as: \[ 90 - 2h \]

2. The temperature in Santa Rosa starts at 97°F and decreases by 4°F per hour, which can be represented as: \[ 97 - 4h \]

To find when the two temperatures are the same, we set the two expressions equal to each other: \[ 90 - 2h = 97 - 4h \]

So the correct equation is: \[ \boxed{90 - 2h = 97 - 4h} \]