A pot of soup, currently 74°C above room temperature, is left out to cool. If that temperature difference decreases by 5% per minute, then what will the difference be in 14 minutes?

If necessary, round your answer to the nearest tenth.

1 answer

We can find the temperature difference after each minute using the formula:

temperature difference after n minutes = initial temperature difference * (1 - rate of decrease)^n.

For this problem, the initial temperature difference is 74°C, and the rate of decrease is 5%. So, after 14 minutes, the temperature difference will be:

temperature difference after 14 minutes = 74 * (1 - 0.05)^14
= 74 * (0.95)^14
≈ 47.85°C.

Rounded to the nearest tenth, the temperature difference after 14 minutes is approximately 47.9°C. Answer: \boxed{47.9}.