Question

A scuba diver diving with an 80 cubic foot tank of air needs to resurface when the air in the tank reaches a level not less than 15 cubic feet. The diver breathes air from the tank at a rate of 1.2 ft³ per minute. How many minutes could the diver stay underwater? Write the inequality and identify the correct answer.

Answer 1

The diver can stay underwater for a maximum of 54 minutes.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find out how many minutes the diver can stay underwater, we can set up an inequality using the given information.

Let x be the number of minutes the diver can stay underwater.

The amount of air remaining in the tank after x minutes of diving is given by:

80 - 1.2x

We want this amount to be greater than or equal to 15 cubic feet:

80 - 1.2x ≥ 15

Solving this inequality, we get:

x ≤ 54

Therefore, the diver can stay underwater for a maximum of 54 minutes.