Which formula correctly defines acres sprayed per tank?

Which formula correctly defines acres sprayed per tank?

• A. Acres per tank = tank capacity (gal per tank) / spray rate (gpa)
• B. Acres per tank = spray rate / tank capacity
• C. Acres per tank = tank capacity × spray rate
• D. Acres per tank = 1 / (tank capacity × spray rate)

Answer: (A)

Understanding how many acres you can treat with one tank starts with the units: tank capacity is gallons per tank and spray rate is gallons per acre. Since the spray rate tells you how many gallons are needed to cover one acre, dividing the total gallons in the tank by that rate gives the area you can cover. So, acres per tank = tank capacity ÷ spray rate, and the units (gal) ÷ (gal per acre) simplify to acres. For example, a 50-gallon tank sprayed at 0.5 gallons per acre would cover 50 ÷ 0.5 = 100 acres. The other options don’t produce acres per tank because they either multiply the quantities or take a reciprocal, which doesn’t yield a valid acres-per-tank value.

Understanding how many acres you can treat with one tank starts with the units: tank capacity is gallons per tank and spray rate is gallons per acre. Since the spray rate tells you how many gallons are needed to cover one acre, dividing the total gallons in the tank by that rate gives the area you can cover. So, acres per tank = tank capacity ÷ spray rate, and the units (gal) ÷ (gal per acre) simplify to acres.

For example, a 50-gallon tank sprayed at 0.5 gallons per acre would cover 50 ÷ 0.5 = 100 acres. The other options don’t produce acres per tank because they either multiply the quantities or take a reciprocal, which doesn’t yield a valid acres-per-tank value.