3. Water drips from a faucet at a constant rate of \( \frac{2}{3} \) quarts in 15 minutes. What is the rate th water drips in quarts per hour?

To find the rate in quarts per hour, first, calculate how many quarts drip in one minute. Since \( \frac{2}{3} \) quarts drip in 15 minutes, divide by 15 to find the per-minute rate: \( \frac{2}{3} \div 15 = \frac{2}{45} \) quarts per minute. Now, multiply this by 60 (minutes in an hour) to find the hourly rate: \( \frac{2}{45} \times 60 = \frac{120}{45} = \frac{8}{3} \) quarts per hour. So, the water drips at a rate of \( \frac{8}{3} \) quarts per hour, or approximately 2.67 quarts per hour. Did you know that the average faucet drip rate is about 1 drop per second? If we take that as a standard, a dripping faucet can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water a year! That's enough to fill a swimming pool. If every household kept their faucets in check, we could save a significant amount of water! When tracking drip rates, it's common to overlook conversion factors or forget about the minutes-to-hours switch. A handy tip is to always double-check your units: if you're working in quarts and the time is in minutes, ensure to convert properly! Mistaking minutes for hours can lead to a miscalculation of the total rate, so using a consistent unit throughout your calculations can prevent headaches later on.