Water was leaking from a faucet at a rate of 1.5 gal every 5 min. If it took 18 min to stop the leak, how much water was wasted?
(18/5)*1.5 gallons = ? (the answer)
In other words, you lose 18/5 = 3.6 times as much water as you would lose in 5 minutes. (You lose 1.5 gallons in 5 minutes)
That amount is 3.6 x 1.5 = 5.4 gallons
Why is this considered geometry?
To find out how much water was wasted, we need to determine how much water leaked during the 18 minutes.
First, let's calculate how many intervals of 5 minutes are in 18 minutes:
18 minutes ÷ 5 minutes = 3.6 intervals (rounded to the nearest whole number)
This means the faucet leaked for 3 full intervals of 5 minutes, and a partial interval.
Now, let's calculate the amount of water leaked during the full intervals:
1.5 gallons/interval × 3 intervals = 4.5 gallons
Next, let's calculate the amount of water leaked during the partial interval:
Since 1.5 gallons leaked every 5 minutes, we can find the amount of water leaked during the partial interval by calculating a proportion:
Amount of water leaked during partial interval = (1.5 gallons/5 minutes) × (remaining minutes)
The remaining minutes are the extra time beyond the last full interval, which is 18 - (5 × 3) = 3 minutes.
Amount of water leaked during partial interval = (1.5 gallons/5 minutes) × 3 minutes = 0.9 gallons
Finally, to find the total amount of water wasted, we add the water leaked during the full intervals and the water leaked during the partial interval:
Total water wasted = 4.5 gallons (from full intervals) + 0.9 gallons (from partial interval) = 5.4 gallons
Therefore, approximately 5.4 gallons of water were wasted.
To find out how much water was wasted, we need to calculate the total amount of water that leaked during the 18 minutes.
First, let's find the rate of water leakage per minute. Since the faucet was leaking at a rate of 1.5 gallons every 5 minutes, we can calculate the leakage rate per minute by dividing the amount leaked in 5 minutes by 5:
Rate of water leakage per minute = 1.5 gallons / 5 minutes = 0.3 gallons/minute
Next, we can use the leakage rate to find how much water leaked during the 18 minutes:
Amount of water leaked in 18 minutes = Leakage rate per minute × Number of minutes
Amount of water leaked in 18 minutes = 0.3 gallons/minute × 18 minutes
Amount of water leaked in 18 minutes = 5.4 gallons
Therefore, a total of 5.4 gallons of water was wasted during the 18 minutes.