A community swimming pool starts with 250 gallons of water. Julian starts filling the pool at a rate of 500 gallons per hour.

Question

How many gallons are in the pool to start? In other words, how many gallons are in the pool after 0 hours?
Time in hours Gallons of water in the pool
0
1
2
3

Answer 1

To find the amount of water in the pool over time, you start with the initial amount of water and then add the amount filled by Julian at a rate of 500 gallons per hour. The initial amount is 250 gallons.

Here are the amounts in the pool at different time intervals:

• At 0 hours: \[ \text{Gallons} = 250 \text{ gallons} \]

• At 1 hour: \[ \text{Gallons} = 250 + (500 \times 1) = 250 + 500 = 750 \text{ gallons} \]

• At 2 hours: \[ \text{Gallons} = 250 + (500 \times 2) = 250 + 1000 = 1250 \text{ gallons} \]

• At 3 hours: \[ \text{Gallons} = 250 + (500 \times 3) = 250 + 1500 = 1750 \text{ gallons} \]

So the data table would look like this:

| Time in hours | Gallons of water in the pool | |--------------|------------------------------| | 0 | 250 | | 1 | 750 | | 2 | 1250 | | 3 | 1750 |