Water is being pumped out of a pool. the number of gallons of water W left in the pool at time t in minutes can be modeled by W(t) = -7t+ 350. Find the y-intercept and explain what it represents in this problem.
when t is zero, W is the initial amountof water in the pool
To find the y-intercept in this problem, we need to set the value of t to 0 in the equation W(t) = -7t + 350 and solve for W(0).
Substituting t = 0 into the equation:
W(0) = -7(0) + 350
W(0) = 0 + 350
W(0) = 350
Therefore, the y-intercept is 350.
In the context of this problem, the y-intercept represents the initial amount of water in the pool at the start of the observation, when the time t is zero. In other words, it is the amount of water present initially before any pumping has occurred. So, at the beginning when the pump has just started, the pool contains 350 gallons of water.