Question

At the end of a snowstorm, Hakeem had 8 inches of snow on his lawn. The temperature then increased and the snow began to melt at a constant rate of 1.5 inches per hour. Assuming no more snow was falling, how much snow would Hakeem have on his lawn 2 hours after the snow began to melt? How much snow would Hakeem have on his lawn after t hours of snow melting?

Answer 1

After 2 hours: 8 − 1.5(2) = 8 − 3 = 5 inches.

After t hours: s(t) = 8 − 1.5t inches (for 0 ≤ t ≤ 8/1.5 = 16/3 hours). If t ≥ 16/3 hours, the snow would be gone (0 inches).