To represent the amounts of liquid in each vat as a function of time (in minutes), we can define:
-
The amount of liquid in the first vat (which is filling from empty at 6 gallons per minute) after \( x \) minutes is given by the equation: \[ 6x \]
-
The amount of liquid in the second vat (which starts with 10 gallons and is filling at 4 gallons per minute) after \( x \) minutes is given by the equation: \[ 10 + 4x \]
To find when the two vats will have an equal amount of liquid, we set these two equations equal to each other:
\[ 6x = 10 + 4x \]
Thus, the final equation showing when the two vats will have an equal amount of liquid is:
\[ 6x = 10 + 4x \]