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.)

Question

(1 point)
Responses

1280+30h=0
1280 plus 30 h is equal to 0

1280−30h=0
1280 minus 30 h is equal to 0

10−30h=0
10 minus 30 h is equal to 0

30h=10

Answer 1

To determine how long the water in the cooler will last, we need to set up an equation based on the total amount of water available and the rate at which the water is being consumed.

We know:

• The total amount of water in the cooler is 1,280 ounces.
• Water is being consumed at a rate of 30 ounces per hour.

We want to find out how many hours \( h \) it takes for the total amount of water to be depleted. The amount of water left after \( h \) hours can be expressed as:

\[ 1280 - 30h = 0 \]

Therefore, the correct equation is:

1280 − 30h = 0

This means that as time goes on (in hours), the amount of water decreases until it reaches zero.