Question

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?

Answer 1

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.