Question

Debra's fish tank has 15 liters of water in it. She plans to add 5 liters per minute until the tank has more than 50 liters. What are the possible numbers of minutes Debra could add water? Use t for the number of minutes.

Answer 1

Debra could add water to her fish tank for more than 7 minutes to exceed 50 liters, as she adds 5 liters per minute and starts with 15 liters.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking about a linear relationship problem, where Debra's fish tank is being filled with water. Initially, the tank has 15 liters and she adds water at a rate of 5 liters per minute. The question concerns finding the possible number of minutes, represented by t, that Debra could be adding water until the tank contains more than 50 liters.

To solve this, we set up an inequality to represent the situation:

1. Start with the initial volume of water: 15 liters.
2. Add 5 liters for each minute passed: 5t liters.
3. Combine the initial volume and the volume added over time: 15 + 5t liters.
4. The tank has to hold more than 50 liters, so we use an inequality: 15 + 5t > 50.
5. Solve for t to find the minimum time Debra could add water: t > (50 - 15) / 5.
6. Calculate: t > 35 / 5, which simplifies to t > 7.

Therefore, Debra could add water for more than 7 minutes. The possible numbers of minutes that Debra could add water are all the minutes greater than 7.