Question

You need to pump water out of a flooded basement, using two 50-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pumps. The basement has the dimensions shown and is flooded to a depth of 16 inches. How long will it take to pump the water out of the basement?

Answer 1

146.82 min

Explanation:

Given that,

The two pumps working together would pump out water at a rate of 100 gallons per minute.

Step1

find the area of the basement

Area of basement = (40)(50-22) + (22)(40-24)

= (40)(28) + (22)(16)

= 1120 + 352

= 1472

Step2

find the volume of the basement

16in = 1.33333ft

volume of basement = 1472(1.3333)

= 1962.66176

Step3

time it take to pump the water out of the basement

1ft³ = 7.48052 gal

1962.66176ft³ = 14681.69 gal

Time = V / rate

Time = 14681.69 gal / 100 gal / min

Time = 146.82 min