My Math Forum Snail problem... find the equation algebrically..

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 September 10th, 2007, 04:57 PM #1 Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Snail problem... find the equation algebrically.. A snail decides to climb a 12 meter well. Every day, he climbs 3 meters in the daytime and slides 2 meters at night. After how many days will he finally arrive at the other side of the well?
September 10th, 2007, 05:43 PM   #2
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Re: Snail problem... find the equation algebrically..

Quote:
 Originally Posted by helpmeplz! After how many days will he finally arrive at the other side of the well?
That depends on whether I salt it or not.

What do you have so far?

September 11th, 2007, 01:36 PM   #3
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Re: Snail problem... find the equation algebrically..

Quote:
 Originally Posted by helpmeplz! A snail decides to climb a 12 meter well. Every day, he climbs 3 meters in the daytime and slides 2 meters at night. After how many days will he finally arrive at the other side of the well?
After 9 days the snail will be at the 9 meter mark. On the 10th day it will reach the top - hopefully it won't slide back any more.

 September 11th, 2007, 04:10 PM #4 Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,111 Thanks: 0 Suppose that the rate at which the snail traveled decreased at a non-constant rate depending upon how long he had been traveling, and also depending upon the amount of salt being poured on him? :P
September 11th, 2007, 04:42 PM   #5

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Re: Snail problem... find the equation algebrically..

Quote:
Originally Posted by mathman
Quote:
 Originally Posted by helpmeplz! A snail decides to climb a 12 meter well. Every day, he climbs 3 meters in the daytime and slides 2 meters at night. After how many days will he finally arrive at the other side of the well?
After 9 days the snail will be at the 9 meter mark. On the 10th day it will reach the top - hopefully it won't slide back any more.
Yeah I get it but how do you do it algebrically? I need an equation.

September 11th, 2007, 05:05 PM   #6
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Quote:
 Originally Posted by Infinity Suppose that the rate at which the snail traveled decreased at a non-constant rate depending upon how long he had been traveling, and also depending upon the amount of salt being poured on him? :P
Ooh, differential equations. I like.

September 12th, 2007, 12:49 PM   #7
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Re: Snail problem... find the equation algebrically..

[quote=helpmeplz!]
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathman
Quote:
 Originally Posted by "helpmeplz!":3fjk7njk A snail decides to climb a 12 meter well. Every day, he climbs 3 meters in the daytime and slides 2 meters at night. After how many days will he finally arrive at the other side of the well?
After 9 days the snail will be at the 9 meter mark. On the 10th day it will reach the top - hopefully it won't slide back any more.
Yeah I get it but how do you do it algebrically? I need an equation.[/quote:3fjk7njk]
H(n)=3+(n-1), where H is height after n days. Since you want H(n)=10, I think you can do the rest.

 September 12th, 2007, 01:38 PM #8 Joined: Aug 2007 From: turkey Posts: 57 Thanks: 0 11 day
September 12th, 2007, 04:00 PM   #9
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Quote:
 Originally Posted by helpmeplz! After how many days will he finally arrive at the other side of the well?
I don't understand. The snail is simply climbing upwards, so why does it ever reach the other side of the well? The standard (but tricky) problem of this type specifies a wall rather than a well, and you have to calculate how long it takes the snail to get to the point directly on the other side of the wall from the point where the snail started (so you have to include the time needed for the descent of the other side).

October 2nd, 2007, 11:20 AM   #10

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Quote:
Originally Posted by skipjack
Quote:
 Originally Posted by helpmeplz! After how many days will he finally arrive at the other side of the well?
I don't understand. The snail is simply climbing upwards, so why does it ever reach the other side of the well? The standard (but tricky) problem of this type specifies a wall rather than a well, and you have to calculate how long it takes the snail to get to the point directly on the other side of the wall from the point where the snail started (so you have to include the time needed for the descent of the other side).
lol so the distance from it started point to finish point is 24 meters =) how ever I believe the question maken by just for 12 meters.

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# 10. if a snail climbed up a 12 ft wall at a steady rate of 3 feet a day, but slipped down 2ft every night, how many days would it take him to reach the top ?

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