Question

A scientist measures the temperature of a chemical solution. At the start of the experiment, the solution is at a temperature of -14.06*C. TH decreases 2.9°C each hour. What is the temperature of the solution after 3 hours, rounded to the nearest whole degree?​

Answer 1

T(3) = -23°C

Explanation:

Constant Rate of Change

Given an initial condition of a variable T, To and a constant rate of change m, it's possible to write a model to predict the value of T in time t:

`T(t)=T_o+mt`

The initial temperature the scientist measures of a chemical solution is To=-14.06°C.

It's known the temperature decreases at a constant rate of -2.9°C each hour, thus the model is:

`T(t)=-14.06-2.9t`

Evaluating at t=3 hours:

`T(3)=-14.06-2.9\cdot 3`

`T(3)=-14.06-8.7`

T(3) = -22.76°C

Rounding to the nearest whole degree:

T(3) = -23°C