Math Problem Statement

An inlet pipe on a swimming pool can be used to fill the pool in 22 hours. The drain pipe can be used to empty the pool in 24 hours. If the pool is 14 filled and then the inlet pipe and drain pipe are opened, how many more hours would it take to fill the pool? Round your answer to two decimal places, if needed.

Solution

To solve this problem, we can use the concept of rates of work. Let's define the problem in terms of rates:

  1. Inlet Pipe: It fills the pool in 22 hours. Therefore, the rate of the inlet pipe is: Rate of Inlet Pipe=1 pool22 hours=122 pools per hour\text{Rate of Inlet Pipe} = \frac{1 \text{ pool}}{22 \text{ hours}} = \frac{1}{22} \text{ pools per hour}

  2. Drain Pipe: It empties the pool in 24 hours. Therefore, the rate of the drain pipe is: Rate of Drain Pipe=1 pool24 hours=124 pools per hour\text{Rate of Drain Pipe} = \frac{1 \text{ pool}}{24 \text{ hours}} = \frac{1}{24} \text{ pools per hour}

  3. Combined Rate: When both the inlet and drain pipes are open, their rates are combined. Since one is filling and the other is draining, the combined rate is the difference between the inlet rate and the drain rate: Combined Rate=122124\text{Combined Rate} = \frac{1}{22} - \frac{1}{24}

To find the combined rate, let's calculate it:

Combined Rate=122124=242222×24=2528=1264 pools per hour\text{Combined Rate} = \frac{1}{22} - \frac{1}{24} = \frac{24 - 22}{22 \times 24} = \frac{2}{528} = \frac{1}{264} \text{ pools per hour}

This means that the pool fills at a rate of 1264\frac{1}{264} pools per hour when both pipes are open.

  1. Amount of Pool Already Filled: The pool is already 14\frac{1}{4} filled. Therefore, the amount of pool left to be filled is: 114=34 of the pool1 - \frac{1}{4} = \frac{3}{4} \text{ of the pool}

  2. Time to Fill the Remaining Pool: To find out how many more hours it will take to fill the remaining 34\frac{3}{4} of the pool at the combined rate, we use the formula:

    Time=Amount to FillRate\text{Time} = \frac{\text{Amount to Fill}}{\text{Rate}}

    Plugging in the values:

    Time=34 pools1264 pools per hour=34×264=198 hours\text{Time} = \frac{\frac{3}{4} \text{ pools}}{\frac{1}{264} \text{ pools per hour}} = \frac{3}{4} \times 264 = 198 \text{ hours}

Thus, it would take 198 hours to fill the remaining part of the pool when both the inlet and drain pipes are open.

Do you want details or have any questions?

Here are 5 related questions for further exploration:

  1. If the inlet pipe's rate was doubled, how would that affect the time needed to fill the pool?
  2. What would happen if both the inlet and drain pipes had the same rate?
  3. How would the filling time change if the pool started at half full?
  4. If a third pipe could either fill or drain the pool, how could it be used to optimize the filling time?
  5. How would the situation change if the drain pipe worked twice as fast as it does now?

Tip: In problems involving rates, combining rates often means adding or subtracting the rates depending on whether the tasks are working together or against each other.