A tomato plant is12 in.tall,/grows 1.5 in/wk. 2nd plant is6 in. tall, & grows 2 in/wk.When are the same/show?

Question

A tomato plant is 12 inches tall, and grows 1.5 inches per week. A second plant is 6 inches tall, and grows 2 inches per week. When will they be the same height ?
How would you set up an equation to show this. I know it is in the 12th week, they would both be 30 inches.

Answer 1

Let "w" be the number of weeks that have passed when the plants are measured.

The height of the first plant can be expressed as:
12 + 1.5w

The height of the second plant as:
6 + 2w

So they are the same height when:
12 + 1.5w = 6 + 2w

Solving:
6 + 1.5w = 2w
6 = 0.5w
w = 12 weeks