Question

Between 10pm and 7:45am, the water level in a swimming pool decreased by 3/8 in. Assuming that the water decreased at a constant rate, how much did the water level drop each hour?

Answer 1

`(1)/(26)` inches

Explanation:

In order to solve this problem, we need to create a ratio.

Since we're looking for the rate per hour, we need to find how long it is from 10pm to 7:45am.

10pm + 2 hours = 12 AM

12 AM + 7.75 hours = 7:45 AM

So in total, it's 9.75 hours.

`(3)/(8)` is the same as 0.375.

Our fraction will become
`(0.375)/(9.75)`, which can simplify down to
`(1)/(26)`.

Now we can create the proportion:

`(1)/(26)=(x)/(1)`

Now we solve for x by cross multiplying.

`1\cdot1=1\\\\1/26=(1)/(26)`

Hope this helped!