Water and other materials necessary for biological activity in trees are absorbed by the roots and transported throughout the stem and branches in thin, hollow tubes in the xylem. Water may travel as fast as 150 feet per hour. Which of the following inequalities best describes the number of minutes, m, after being absorbed by the root, that it takes for water to reach a height of 250 feet above the ground?Choose 1 answer:(A) 150m≥250(B) 150m≤250(C) 25m≤250(D) 25m≥250
Q. Water and other materials necessary for biological activity in trees are absorbed by the roots and transported throughout the stem and branches in thin, hollow tubes in the xylem. Water may travel as fast as 150 feet per hour. Which of the following inequalities best describes the number of minutes, m, after being absorbed by the root, that it takes for water to reach a height of 250 feet above the ground?Choose 1 answer:(A) 150m≥250(B) 150m≤250(C) 25m≤250(D) 25m≥250
Converting rate to feet per minute: To find the time it takes for water to travel 250 feet, we need to use the rate of 150 feet per hour. We need to convert this rate to feet per minute since the question asks for the time in minutes.
Finding the Rate: There are 60 minutes in an hour, so we divide the rate by 60 to convert it to feet per minute: 60 minutes per hour150 feet per hour=25 feet per minute.
Setting up the inequality: Since we are looking for an inequality that describes the time it takes for water to reach a height of 250 feet above the ground, we want to express that 25×m should be greater than or equal to the time it takes to reach 250 feet. Therefore, the inequality is 25m≥250.
Selecting the correct answer: Now we need to match our inequality with one of the given options. Therefore, the correct answer is option (D) 25m≥250, which is equivalent to saying that the number of minutes m after being absorbed by the root that it takes for water to reach a height of 250 feet is greater than or equal to the time it takes to travel that distance at the rate of 25 feet per minute.
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