Question

A basement has a 24-foot by 32-foot rectangular floor. The basement is flooded with water to a depth of 18 inches. Three pumps are used to pump the water out of the basement. Each pump will pump 8 gallons of water per minute. If a cubic foot of water contains 7.5 gallons, how many minutes will it take to pump all of the water out of the basement using the three pumps?

Answer 1

Explanation:

To find out how many minutes it will take to pump all of the water out of the basement, you need to calculate the total volume of water in cubic feet and then determine how long it will take to pump it out at the rate of 8 gallons per minute per pump.

First, calculate the volume of water in cubic feet:

- The basement has a floor area of 24 feet by 32 feet, which is 24 * 32 = 768 square feet.

- The water depth is 18 inches, which is 18 / 12 = 1.5 feet.

- Now, calculate the volume by multiplying the area by the depth: 768 sq. ft * 1.5 ft = 1152 cubic feet.

Next, find out how many gallons of water this represents:

- Since 1 cubic foot contains 7.5 gallons, you have 1152 cubic feet * 7.5 gallons/cubic foot = 8640 gallons.

Now, you have three pumps each pumping 8 gallons per minute, so the total pumping rate is 3 pumps * 8 gallons/minute/pump = 24 gallons per minute.

Finally, divide the total gallons of water by the pumping rate:

- 8640 gallons / 24 gallons per minute = 360 minutes.

So, it will take 360 minutes to pump all of the water out of the basement using the three pumps.