Question

A pipe is leaking at 1.5 cups per day . How many gallons per week is the pipe leaking?

Answer 1

Use dimensional analysis (see below).

Explanation:

Dimensional analysis is something that you may or may not be familiar with. In case you don't know, dimensional analysis is basically a way of converting units and numbers to a desired form. In this context, we are given that the pipe leaks at a rate of `1.5 " cups per day"`, and the desired units are `"gallons per week"`. Below I have outlined the solution process. Pay close attention to each step, and notice how the units cancel out.

`1.5 "cups"/"day"` `to` `x "gallons"/"week"`

Solve for `x`.

`(1.5 " cups")/"day" * ((7 " days")/(1 " week")) * ((1 " gallon")/(16" cups")) = x`

`(1.5 cancel(" cups"))/color(red)cancel("day") * ((7 color(red)cancel(" days"))/(1 " week")) * ((1 " gallon")/(16 cancel(" cups"))) = x`

`x=0.65625 " gallons/week"`

I hope that helps!

P.S. Please leave a comment if you didn't understand something, and I will do my best to clarify your doubts. Thank you!