arbara turns on her water to begin filling a tub. After pouring water into the tub at a constant rate for 5 minutes, Barbara turns off the water for 15 minutes. Then Barbara unplugs the tub to allow the water to begin draining out. The water drains at a constant rate for 20 minutes until the tub is empty again.

Which graph represents the volume of water in the tub during this time?

1 answer

To create a graph depicting the volume of water in Barbara's tub during the described scenario, we can break down the timeline into different segments:

  1. Filling the Tub (0 to 5 minutes): The water is being poured into the tub at a constant rate. This will appear as a straight line with a positive slope on the graph.

  2. Water Off (5 to 20 minutes): After 5 minutes, Barbara turns off the water, and the volume in the tub remains constant for 15 minutes. This will appear as a horizontal line on the graph.

  3. Draining the Tub (20 minutes to 40 minutes): After 20 minutes (5 minutes filling + 15 minutes no water), Barbara starts draining the tub, and the water drains out at a constant rate over 20 minutes until it's completely empty. This will appear as a straight line with a negative slope on the graph.

So, the graph will consist of three segments:

  • A rising line for the first 5 minutes.
  • A horizontal line from 5 to 20 minutes.
  • A declining line from 20 to 40 minutes.

To visualize this, the x-axis will represent time in minutes, while the y-axis will represent the volume of water in the tub. The key points on the graph will be:

  • Start at 0 volume at time 0.
  • Increase to a maximum volume after 5 minutes.
  • Stay at that maximum volume from 5 to 20 minutes.
  • Decrease back to 0 volume from 20 to 40 minutes.

If you were to select an option from a set of graphs, look for one that matches this description.