Answer:
-3/4 gallons per minute, 13 and 1/3 minutes, 8 minutes.
Explanation:
A) It says that when Erick first sees the tank, there is 10 gallons. But then, 4 minutes later, there is 7. That would show that it decreased 3 gallons in 4 minutes, and we find the unit rate by dividing both numbers by 4 to get 3/4 gallons in 1 minute. Because it's decreasing, it's -3/4 gallons per minute.
B) Since it starts at 10, and decreases constantly at 3/4 gallons per minute, dividing 10 by 3/4 would result in the time it takes. (We can also use an equation that starts with 10, and decreases 3/4 every x minutes, resulting in 0. This is the equation: 10-(3/4)x=0. Then we could add (3/4)x to each side, and divide each side by (3/4) to solve for x. This is just another way. You don't have to use it this way if it's a little complicated.) So, 10/(3/4)= 10*(4/3)=13 and 1/3 minutes for the bathtub to drain completely.
C) The tank is full at 16 gallons, and currently it's 10 gallons. We know the rate of change is 3/4 gallons per minute. If it starts at 16 gallons, the original, after we subtract 3/4 multiplied by x minutes (the rate), we get 10 gallons as the current amount. The equation would be 16-(3/4)x=10. Then we just add (3/4)x to each side and subtract 10 from each side to get 6=(3/4)x, and dividing each side by 3/4 would result in x minutes as 8 minutes to drain the tank. Hope this helps!