Final answer:
The equation representing the water left in the cooler after t minutes is w = 60 - 4t, where w is the amount of water and t is the time in minutes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subject of the question is to write an equation that represents the amount of water left in a water cooler after a certain number of minutes, given that it starts with 60 gallons and leaks at a rate of 4 gallons per minute. We can define the amount of water left, w, as a function of time, t, in minutes.
The equation would be:
w = 60 - 4t
This equation suggests that for every minute that passes, 4 gallons of water leak out of the water cooler. Therefore, after t minutes, 4t gallons will have leaked, and the total amount left will be 60 gallons minus the leaked amount.