A scientist is monitoring the temperature of a holding tank containing fish to be released into a river. In one 12-h period, the highest temperature was 10.4°C and the lowest temperature was 7.6°C. Write an absolute value equation that can be used to report the highest temperature and the lowest temperature. (2 marks)
The temperature decreased 19°F between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. The temperature at 4 a.m. was 65°F. What was the temperature at 10 p.m.
To write an absolute value equation for reporting the highest and lowest temperatures, we need to consider that absolute value represents the distance from zero on a number line. In this case, we can consider the zero point as the average temperature.
The average temperature can be found by adding the highest and lowest temperatures and dividing by 2:
Average temperature = (10.4°C + 7.6°C) / 2 = 18°C / 2 = 9°C
To report the highest temperature, we can write an absolute value equation as follows:
|Highest temperature - Average temperature| = 10.4°C - 9°C = 1.4°C
To report the lowest temperature, the equation would be:
|Lowest temperature - Average temperature| = 7.6°C - 9°C = -1.4°C
However, since temperature cannot be negative in this context, we take the absolute value of -1.4°C:
|-1.4°C| = 1.4°C
Therefore, the absolute value equations for reporting the highest and lowest temperatures would be:
|Highest temperature - Average temperature| = 1.4°C
|Lowest temperature - Average temperature| = 1.4°C