A truck driver is driving from Nome, Alaska to Death Valley, California. Because he is traveling between locations with extreme
temperatures, he needs to check the weather continuously to make sure the gas in his truck remains in liquid form. The gas he uses freezes at −40° F and evaporates at 140° F. Part A: Write an inequality to represent the temperatures at which the gas in the truck will remain in liquid form. Part B: Describe the graph of the inequality completely from Part A. Use terms such as open/closed circles and shading directions. Explain what the solutions to the inequality represent. Part C: In January 1989, the temperature in Nome, Alaska dropped to −49° F. Would the gas in the driver's truck have remained in liquid form so he could have driven on this day? Why or why not?
Part A: The temperature must be greater than -40, and lower than 140. -40 < T < 140
Part B: The graph is a number line between -40 and 140, with open circles at -40 and 140. The solutions are temperatures at which the gas will remain liquid.
Part C: No, -49 is less than -40, so the gas would have frozen.
