To solve the problem, we can start by determining the total depth the fish needs to reach and how much distance it has left to descend.
- Current Depth: The fish is currently at -10.8 meters.
- Target Depth: The fish needs to reach -37.8 meters.
Next, we calculate the total distance it needs to descend:
\[ \text{Distance to descend} = \text{Target Depth} - \text{Current Depth} \] \[ = -37.8 - (-10.8) \] \[ = -37.8 + 10.8 \] \[ = -27.0 \text{ meters} \]
So, the fish needs to descend 27.0 meters.
- Descent Rate: The fish descends 1.5 meters every 2 minutes.
Next, we calculate how many 1.5 meter descents it will take to reach a total descend of 27.0 meters. We do this by dividing the total distance by the distance it descends each time:
\[ \text{Number of descents} = \frac{\text{Total Distance to Descend}}{\text{Distance Descent per Interval}} \] \[ = \frac{27.0}{1.5} \] \[ = 18 \text{ descents} \]
- Total Time: Since each descent takes 2 minutes, we can calculate the total time by multiplying the number of descents by the time per descent:
\[ \text{Total Time} = \text{Number of Descents} \times \text{Time per Descent} \] \[ = 18 \times 2 \] \[ = 36 \text{ minutes} \]
Final Answer: It will take the fish 36 minutes to reach a depth of -37.8 meters.
Explanation Sentence: The fish will take 36 minutes to descend from its current depth of 10.8 meters below sea level to a deeper depth of 37.8 meters below sea level.