The number of gallons of water remaining in a pool t hours after it began to drain is illustrated in the table below. What is the initial number of gallons of water in the pool before it began to drain?
A) 19500
B) 22000
C) 14500
D) 17000
E) 12000

Question

The number of gallons of water remaining in a pool t hours after it began to drain is illustrated in the table below.  What is the initial number of gallons of water in the pool before it began to drain?
A) 19500 
B) 22000 
C) 14500 
D) 17000 
E) 12000

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Looking at the table, we can see that the pool is losing 2000 gallons of water every hour. This means that the initial number of gallons of water in the pool can be found by adding the remaining gallons to the total amount of water lost. This is represented by the equation:

Initial gallons = Remaining gallons + Total water lost

Plugging in values from the table, we get:

Initial gallons = 5000 + (2000 x 8)
Initial gallons = 5000 + 16000
Initial gallons = 21000

Therefore, the initial number of gallons of water in the pool before it began to drain is 21000. The closest answer choice to this value is B) 22000.

The Number of Gallons of Water Remaining in a Pool