A 10-gallon water cooler in an office provides water for the whole department. Each hour, 30 ounces of water are removed from the cooler and drunk by office workers. Write an equation to show how long the water in the cooler will last. (10 gallons is 1,280 ounces.)

Answer 1

To determine how long the water in the cooler will last, we can start by setting up an equation based on the information given:

1. Total amount of water in the cooler: 10 gallons = 1,280 ounces.

2. Rate of water removal: 30 ounces are consumed per hour.

Let \( t \) be the number of hours the water will last. The amount of water consumed over time can be expressed as:

\[ \text{Water consumed} = \text{Rate of consumption} \times t = 30 , \text{ounces/hour} \times t , \text{hours} \]

To find out when the water will run out, we set the total amount of water equal to the amount of water consumed:

\[ 1,280 , \text{ounces} = 30 , \text{ounces/hour} \times t \]

Now, we can solve for \( t \):

\[ t = \frac{1,280 , \text{ounces}}{30 , \text{ounces/hour}} = \frac{1,280}{30} \]

Calculating this gives:

\[ t \approx 42.67 , \text{hours} \]

Thus, the equation that shows how long the water in the cooler will last is:

\[ 1,280 = 30t \]

And the solution indicates that the water will last approximately 42.67 hours.