Answer:
The least number of hours the submarine must travel underwater is 3.
Explanation:
Given inequality,
36S + 64U ≥ 288,
Where, S represents the number of hours the submarine can travel on the water's surface,
U represents the number of hours it can travel underwater in order to reach Choo Kheng's destination,
Given,
The submarine travels for
hours on the water's surface,
That is, S =

By substituting the value,






Hence, the least value of U is 3,
That is, the least number of hours the submarine must travel underwater is 3.