The volume of water in a tank is modeled by the function y = 1.15x3 – 0.1x2 + 2 where x is the number of minutes after the faucet filling the tank is turned on. What is the y-intercept of the graph, and what does it represent in this context? Choose from the drop-down menus.

Given:

The volume of water in a tank is modeled by the function

where, x is the number of minutes after the faucet filling the tank is turned on.

To find:

The y-intercept and what does it represent in this context?

Solution:

We have,

Substituting x=0, we get

Therefore, the y-intercept is 2 and it represents the volume of water in a tank before the faucet filling the tank is turned on.