a computer is being lowered into the ocean from a platform. at this moment it is 210 feet below surface and being lowered 150 feet every 30 minutes. how to write this in the form of an expression?
-210-5x
Yes, assuming x = # of minutes.
depends what your expression is supposed to represent
Suppose you want to know the depth after t minutes
rate = 150/30 ft/min or 5 ft/min
so depth = 210 + 5t
Your answer is perfectly correct, since it also shows the position relative to the ocean floor,
mine shows the magnitude of that depth
To write the given situation as an expression, we can break it down into two components: the initial depth and the rate of descent.
1. Initial depth: The computer is initially 210 feet below the surface. This can be expressed as -210 feet (since it is below the surface).
2. Rate of descent: The computer is being lowered 150 feet every 30 minutes. To calculate the rate of descent per minute, we divide 150 feet by 30 minutes, which gives us 5 feet per minute. Therefore, the rate of descent can be expressed as -5 feet per minute (since it is descending).
Now, combining the initial depth and the rate of descent, we can write the expression:
-210 - (5 * t)
In this expression, 't' represents the time in minutes. The expression calculates the depth at any given time 't' by subtracting the product of the rate of descent (-5) and the time 't' from the initial depth (-210).