Question

There are two identical oil tanks. The level of oil in Tank A is 12 ft and drained at the rate of 0.5 ft/min. Tank B contains 8 ft of oil and is drained at the rate of 0.25 ft/min. After how many minutes will the level of oil in the two tanks be the same? A.) 8 minutes B.) 4 minutes C.) 2 minutes D.) 16 minutes

Answer 1

This can be modeled as a linear equations

Let:

y1 = Level of tank A

y2 = Level of tank B

Where:

`\begin{gathered} y1=12-0.5x \\ y2=8-0.25x \\ \end{gathered}`

x = Number of minutes.

In order to find when they will have the same level:

`\begin{gathered} y1=y2 \\ 12-0.5x=8-0.25x \\ \end{gathered}`

Solve for x:

`\begin{gathered} 12-8=0.5x-0.25x \\ 4=0.25x \\ x=(4)/(0.25) \\ x=16 \end{gathered}`

Answer:

16 minutes