Question

A fire covers 420 acres and continues to spread at a rate of 60 acres per day. a.How many total acres will be covered in the next 2 days? b. Then write an expression for the total area covered by the fire in x days. c. The firefighters estimate that they can put out the fire at a rate of 80 acres per day, write an expression for the total area that the firefighters can put out in x days. d. set the expression in parts b and c equal. Solve for x. What does x represent

Answer 1

(a) 420 + 2*60 = 540
(b) y = 420 + 60x
(c) z = 80x
(d) 420+60x = 80x
x = 21

The firemen can put out the fire in 21 days.

Check: in 21 days, the fire covers 1680 acres.
in 5 days, the firemen put out 1680 acres