If four pounds of absorbent material are used, how many gallons can be absorbed?

If four pounds of absorbent material are used, how many gallons can be absorbed?

• A. 1
• B. 2
• C. 3
• D. 4

Answer: (B)

Absorption capacity scales with the weight of absorbent material. Using the standard rate of about 0.5 gallon absorbed per pound, four pounds will soak up four × 0.5 = two gallons. So the amount absorbed matches that 0.5 gallon per pound rule. The other totals would require a different rate or more/fewer pounds, which isn’t indicated here. In practice, check the product’s exact absorption rate, but for this problem two gallons is the correct amount.

Absorption capacity scales with the weight of absorbent material. Using the standard rate of about 0.5 gallon absorbed per pound, four pounds will soak up four × 0.5 = two gallons. So the amount absorbed matches that 0.5 gallon per pound rule. The other totals would require a different rate or more/fewer pounds, which isn’t indicated here. In practice, check the product’s exact absorption rate, but for this problem two gallons is the correct amount.