Maya turned a deep freezer and recorded its temperature at 9:00am as 7°C after 15 minutes,he recorded the temperature as -17°C.Calculate the rate at which the temperature in the freezer dropping per minute

1 answer

To calculate the rate at which the temperature in the freezer is dropping per minute, we can follow these steps:

  1. Determine the initial and final temperatures:

    • Initial temperature (after 15 minutes): \( 7°C \)
    • Final temperature: \( -17°C \)
  2. Calculate the change in temperature: \[ \text{Change in temperature} = \text{Final temperature} - \text{Initial temperature} = -17°C - 7°C = -24°C \]

  3. Calculate the time interval:

    • The total time interval for the temperature drop is 15 minutes.
  4. Calculate the rate of temperature drop per minute: \[ \text{Rate of temperature drop} = \frac{\text{Change in temperature}}{\text{Time interval}} = \frac{-24°C}{15 \text{ minutes}} = -1.6°C/\text{minute} \]

The negative sign indicates the temperature is dropping. Therefore, the temperature in the freezer is dropping at a rate of 1.6°C per minute.