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Connor has a pet snail that fell into a hole in the ground. The hole is 9 feet deep. Each day, the snail climbs up 3 feet, but each night, it slides back down 1 foot. How many days will it take for Connor's pet snail to get to the top of the hole?

1) 2 days
2) 3 days
3) 5 days
4) 4 days

User Chulian
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1 Answer

7 votes

Final answer:

The pet snail will take 4 full days to get out of the 9-foot-deep hole, as it climbs 3 feet during the day and slides back 1 foot at night, effectively ascending 2 feet per day until it can escape without sliding back.

Step-by-step explanation:

Connor's pet snail is in a 9-foot-deep hole, and the pet snail manages to climb up 3 feet during the day and slides back 1 foot at night. To calculate the number of days it will take for Connor's pet snail to get out, we need to consider both the progress made by climbing and the setback each night. The snail effectively climbs 2 feet a day (3 feet up during the day, minus 1 foot sliding back at night). However, when the snail reaches 7 feet (on the third day), it will climb out on the fourth day without sliding back since it will have reached the top before the nightly slide. So, it will take the pet snail 4 full days to get out of the hole.



Step-by-Step Explanation

On the first day, the snail climbs up 3 feet and is at 3 feet depth by evening.

During the first night, it slides back 1 foot and starts at 2 feet depth on day two.

By the end of the second day, the snail has climbed up to 5 feet depth.

After the second night, it starts at 4 feet on the third day.

At the end of the third day, the snail reaches 7 feet.

  1. On the fourth day, the snail climbs the remaining 2 feet and escapes the hole without sliding back that night.

User JayDepp
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