Paula has two fish tanks that are leaking. The first fish tank holds 50 gallons of water and is leaking at a rate of 5 gallons per day. The second fish tank holds 90 gallons of water and is leaking at a rate of 15 gallons per day.

Question

At how many days will the two fish tanks have the same amount of water in them?

a 4
b 5
c 3
d 12

Answer 1

Let's assume that after "x" days, both fish tanks will have the same amount of water in them.
After "x" days, the first fish tank will have 50 - 5x gallons of water remaining.
After "x" days, the second fish tank will have 90 - 15x gallons of water remaining.
To find the number of days where both fish tanks have the same amount of water, we can set the remaining water in the first fish tank equal to the remaining water in the second fish tank and solve for "x":
50 - 5x = 90 - 15x
10x = 40
x = 4
Therefore, the two fish tanks will have the same amount of water in them after 4 days. Answer: a) 4.