Question

At time t​=0, water begins to drip out of a pipe into an empty bucket. After 36 ​minutes, there are 12 inches of water in the bucket. Write a linear function rule to model how many inches of water w are in the bucket after any number of minutes

Answer 1

y=1/3t

Explanation:

For a linear function you can use the formula y=mx+b

m is the slope (also known as the rate of change)

b is the y intercept (the value y is at when x is 0). For this problem the bucket starts out empty so there is no y-intercept that needs to be written in the equation.

To find slope divide the inches of water by the total number of minutes given. 12/36=1/3

Plug your slope and y-intercept into the equation.

y=1/3t+0

Simplify

y=1/3t