Question

Difficulty: EasyFunction Evaluation, Composition, and Properties

A weather balloon's altitude in meters after tt minutes is given by the function A(t)=100+50tA(t) = 100 + 50t. The air temperature in degrees Celsius at an altitude of aa meters is modeled by the function T(a)=250.02aT(a) = 25 - 0.02a. What is the temperature of the air surrounding the balloon, in degrees Celsius, after 22 minutes?

Answer: 21 degrees Celsius

Answer

The temperature of the air surrounding the balloon after 2 minutes is 21 degrees Celsius.
The temperature of the air surrounding the balloon after 2 minutes is found by first calculating the balloon's altitude, A(2)=100+50(2)=200A(2) = 100 + 50(2) = 200 meters, and then using this altitude to evaluate the temperature function, T(200)=250.02(200)=21T(200) = 25 - 0.02(200) = 21.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Calculate the altitude of the weather balloon at t=2t = 2 minutes using the function A(t)A(t).
A(2)=200A(2) = 200 meters
To find the temperature surrounding the balloon, we must first determine its altitude at the given time of 2 minutes.
2
Substitute the altitude of 200 meters into the temperature function T(a)T(a).
T(200)=21T(200) = 21 degrees Celsius
The temperature function depends on the altitude, so evaluating T(200)T(200) yields the temperature at that height.

Key Concept

Evaluating composite functions in a real-world context.
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