A barrel contains 181 gallons of paint and is being drained at a constant rate of 5 gallons per hour. Write and expression that models the number of gallons, g, after t hours.
g = 181 - 5 t
To write an expression that models the number of gallons, g, after t hours, we need to consider that the barrel contains 181 gallons initially and is being drained at a constant rate of 5 gallons per hour.
Every hour, the number of gallons in the barrel decreases by 5. So after 1 hour, the number of gallons left is 181 - 5 = 176.
We can use this information to write an expression:
g = 181 - 5t
In this expression, g represents the number of gallons after t hours.