Brandon has a 55-gallon fish tank. He estimates he can drain the tank at an average rate of 11 gallons per minute. In a linear model of this situation, x represents the number of minutes the tank has been draining and y represents the amount of water in the tank. Relative to this situation, what does the y-intercept represent?

Question

A.
The y-intercept represents the amount of water in the tank before it begins draining.
B.
The y-intercept represents the rate at which the tank can be drained.
C.
The y-intercept represents the number of minutes it takes to drain the tank.
D.
The y-intercept represents the amount of water in the tank after it has been drained.

Answer 1

In the linear model where \( x \) represents the number of minutes the tank has been draining and \( y \) represents the amount of water in the tank, the y-intercept is the value of \( y \) when \( x = 0 \). This means it indicates the amount of water in the tank at the starting point, which is before any water has been drained.

Therefore, the correct answer is:

A. The y-intercept represents the amount of water in the tank before it begins draining.