Question

An above-ground swimming pool is leaking. After 1/2 hour the pool has leaked 7/8 of a gallon of water. How many gallons of water per hour is the swimming pool leaking?

Answer 1

7/8

Explanation:

7/8 of a gallon in 1/2 hour

Answer 2

7/8 gallons in 1/2 hour
Looking for gallons per hour, or
`(gallons)/(hour)`.

So, this is basically a division problem of 7/8 divided by 1/2. Dividing by a fraction is the same as multiplying by that fraction's reciprocal.

`(7/8)/(1/2)(gallons)/(hour)`


`((7)/(8))/((1)/(2)) = (7)/(8) * (2)/(1) = \frac {7}{8} * 2 = (14)/(8)`
Now we simplify by a factor of 2:

`(14)/(8) = (7)/(4)`

And here we are! There are 7/4 gallons leaking per hour. This is the same as 1.75 gallons per hour. Hope this helps! :)