Final answer:
The function to find the total number of gallons of water left in the tank after a number of weeks is a linear function, expressed as t(w) = 372 - 18w. Here, t is the total gallons left, and w is the number of weeks.
Step-by-step explanation:
The function that can be used to find t, the total number of gallons of water in the tank after w weeks given that the water tank contains 372 gallons of water and decreases at a constant rate of 18 gallons per week, is a linear function. This function can be represented as t(w) = 372 - 18w. Here, 372 represents the initial amount of water in the tank, and 18 represents the rate at which the water is decreasing every week. The variable w indicates the number of weeks that have passed.
Step-by-step, to use this function you would:
- Identify the initial amount of water in the tank (372 gallons).
- Determine the rate of decrease per week (18 gallons/week).
- Plug in the number of weeks you want to check for (w) into the function.
- Perform the subtraction to find the total amount of water left in the tank after the specified number of weeks.