Question

If a harmful chemical is released into the air and initially contaminates a 20-mile radius, spreading at a rate of 4.7% each hour, how many miles will have been contaminated after one week (168 hours)?

A) 20 miles
B) 25 miles
C) 29.4 miles
D) 500 miles

Answer 1

The miles contaminated after one week is approximately 29.4 miles.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find out how many miles will have been contaminated after one week, we can use the formula:

Miles contaminated = Initial radius * (1 + rate)^time

Given that the initial radius is 20 miles, the rate is 4.7%, and the time is 168 hours, we can plug in these values into the formula to calculate the number of miles contaminated after one week:

Miles contaminated = 20 * (1 + 0.047)^168

Simplifying the equation, we have:

Miles contaminated ≈ 29.4 miles

Therefore, the correct answer is C) 29.4 miles.