Question

The height of the water in a fish pond is 42.5 inches. Water is being drained from the pond at a rate of 3.75 inches per minute. What is the height of the water after 3 minutes?

Answer 1

Height of the water after 3 minutes is 31.25 inches

Solution:

Given that height of the water in a fish pond is 42.5 inches

Water is being drained from the pond at a rate of 3.75 inches per minute

To find:  height of the water after 3 minutes

According to given information,

Water drained in 1 minute = 3.75 inches

So height of the water after 3 minutes is calculated by following steps:

1) find how much water is drained in 3 minutes

2) subtract value obtained in step 1 from total height of water in fish pond

Step 1:

water is drained in 3 minutes = Water drained in 1 minute x 3

$\text {water is drained in } 3 \text { minutes }=3.75 \times 3=11.25$

Thus water drained in 3 minutes is 11.25 inches

Step 2:

height of the water after 3 minutes = total height of water in fish pond - water drained in 3 minutes

height of the water after 3 minutes = 42.5 - 11.25 = 31.25 inches

Thus height of the water after 3 minutes is 31.25 inches