It starts snowing in the morning and continues steadily throughout the day. A snow- plow that removes snow at a constant rate starts plowing at noon. It plows 2 miles in the first hour, and 1 mile in the second. What time did it start snowing?
Inadequate data.
To determine the time when it started snowing, we can use the information given about the snowplow and the rate at which it removes snow.
Let's break down the problem step by step.
We know that the snowplow removes snow at a constant rate, and it plows 2 miles in the first hour and 1 mile in the second hour. This means that the snowplow removes a total of 3 miles of snow in the first two hours.
Based on the given information, we can use this equation to represent the rate of snowfall:
Snowfall Rate = Snowplow's Plowing Rate - Snowplow's Removing Rate
Since the snowplow removes snow at a constant rate, the snowfall rate should be equal to the rate at which the snowplow removes snow.
Let's assume that the snow started falling "x" hours before the snowplow started plowing. Therefore, the total snowfall during that period would be:
Snowfall = Snowfall Rate * x
Since the snowplow removes snow at a constant rate (3 miles every 2 hours), the snowfall rate would be 1.5 miles/hour.
Now, we can set up an equation to solve for "x," the time when it started snowing:
Snowfall = Snowfall Rate * x
3 miles = 1.5 miles/hour * x
Simplifying the equation, we find:
x = 3 miles / (1.5 miles/hour)
x = 2 hours
Therefore, it started snowing 2 hours before the snowplow started plowing, which means it started snowing at 10:00 AM.