The number of gallons of water, y , in a tank after x hours may be modeled by the linear equation y = 800 - 50x . Which of the following statements about the tank is true?
It is filling at a rate of 50 gallons per hour.
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It is emptying at a rate of 800 gallons per hour.
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It is emptying at a rate of 16 gallons per hour.
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It is filling at a rate of 800 gallons per hour.
It is emptying at a rate of 50 gallons per hour
It is emptying at a rate of 50 gallons per hour
The correct statement is: It is emptying at a rate of 50 gallons per hour.
This is because the coefficient of x in the equation is -50, which indicates that the amount of water in the tank is decreasing by 50 gallons for each hour that passes.
To determine the rate at which the tank is filling or emptying, we need to examine the coefficient of the variable x in the linear equation.
In this case, the coefficient of x is -50, which means that for each hour (each unit of x), the amount of water in the tank decreases by 50 gallons.
Therefore, the correct statement is: The tank is emptying at a rate of 50 gallons per hour.