Question

A scuba diver is hired to take underwater photos. He begins swimming straight downward from an elevation of -5 meters relative to sea level. His elevation changes at a constant rate of 2.5 meters per minute. When he stops, his camera is still in a safe depth for use. For how many minutes could he have been swimming? Graph the solution set. Show your work.​

Answer 1

Explanation:

The scuba diver's elevation after t minutes can be represented by the equation y = -5 + 2.5t. The camera is in a safe depth for use when y is greater than or equal to 0, so we want to find the value of t when y is equal to 0.

Solving for t:

0 = -5 + 2.5t

5 = 2.5t

t = 5/2.5

t = 2

So the scuba diver could have been swimming for 2 minutes.

The graph of the solution set would be a line with slope 2.5 and y-intercept of -5, and the x-axis (y = 0) would be the line where the diver's depth is equal to sea level. The solution to the problem would be the point on the graph where y = 0 and x = 2.