Question

a pet store employee added water to a fish tank. the function $w(t) = 4 + 2t$ represents the amount of water, in gallons, that the tank contained after $t$ minutes.
complete the sentence:
there were __ gallons of water in the tank before the employee started filling it, and he added water at a rate of __ gallons per minute.

Explanation:

Step1: Find initial water amount

Substitute $t=0$ into $W(t)=4+2t$:
$W(0)=4+2(0)=4$

Step2: Identify filling rate

The coefficient of $t$ is the rate:
Rate = 2

Answer:

There were 4 gallons of water in the tank before the employee started filling it, and he added water at a rate of 2 gallons per minute.