Question

The water table table drops 200m over a distance of 20km from a highway to an oasis in a sandy desert environment. The coefficient of permeability of the sand is 0.002 m/s. A truck containing acetone overturns on the highway and spills its contents onto the sand surface. If the acetone takes 18.5 days to reach the water table, how long does it take to reach the oasis?

Answer 1

The question lacks sufficient information to calculate the time for acetone to reach the oasis from the water table. The coefficient of permeability helps understand movement through the sand, but the rate of horizontal flow and additional hydrogeological factors are needed to determine the time.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate how long it takes for the spilled acetone to reach the oasis after reaching the water table, we first need to understand the relationship between time, distance, and the permeability of the sand. The coefficient of permeability gives us an idea of how fast the acetone can travel through the sand. However, the question does not provide enough information to directly calculate the time it would take for the acetone to reach the oasis, as the rate of horizontal flow in the water table differs from the rate of vertical infiltration due to different hydrogeological factors. Moreover, the parameters necessary to establish the horizontal flow rate, such as the gradient of the water table and the porosity of the sand, are not given.

Without additional information, it is impossible to accurately calculate the time it would take for the acetone to reach the oasis. Thus, we cannot answer the student's question with the information provided.