Question

The water temperature in the ocean varies inversely with the depth of the water. The deeper a person dives, the colder the water becomes. At a depth of 700 meters, the water temperature is 5° Celsius. What is the water temperature at a depth of 400 meters? Find the constant of proportionality k. k= (If needed, round answer to 2 decimal places.) Using the k from above find the water temperature in degrees Celsius at a depth of 400 meters. The water temperature will be ° Celsius. (If needed, round answer to 2 decimal places.) Question Help: D Video

Answer 1

Using the equation for inverse variation, we have:

xy= k (x: temeperature, y: depth)

(5)(700)=k (Replacing)

k=3500 (Multiplying)

Using k and x=400 m, we have:

x(400)= 3500

x=3500/400 (Dividing by 400 on both sides of the equation, we have)

x= 8.75

The temperature is 8.75 °C