Question

Parts of New Orleans lie 0.5 meter below sea level. After d days of rain, the equation w=0.3d ± 0.5 represents the water level w in meters. Find the zero, and explain what it means in the context of this situation.

Answer 1

The zero of the equation represents the number of days required for the water level to reach the original level of 0.5 meters below sea level.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this situation, the equation w = 0.3d ± 0.5 represents the water level in meters after d days of rain. The zero of the equation can be found by setting w equal to zero and solving for d.

We have 0 = 0.3d ± 0.5. If we add 0.5 to both sides, we get 0.5 = 0.3d. Dividing both sides by 0.3, we find that d = 1.67 (rounded to two decimal places).

In the context of this situation, the zero represents the number of days required for the water level to reach the original level of 0.5 meters below sea level. Therefore, after approximately 1.67 days of rain, the water level will return to the original level.

Answer 2

`w = - 0.5`

Step-by-step explanation:

Given

`w = 0.3d - 0.5` [The correct equation]

Required

Find and interpret the 0

To do this, we set
`d = 0`

Substitute 0 for d in
`w = 0.3d - 0.5`

`w = 0.3 * 0 - 0.5`

`w = 0 - 0.5`

`w = - 0.5`

This means that the level of rain is 0.5m below the sea at day 0