A plane loses altitude at the rate of 5 meters per second. It begins with an altitude of 8500 meters. The planes altitude is a function of the number of seconds that pass. How much time will pass before the plane will land

28.33 min

Step-by-step explanation:

altitude = 8500 m - (5 m/sec) t

To determine the length of time that will pass before the plane will land, set this altitude function = to 0 and solve for t: This assumes that "land" is at sea level.

(5 m/sec) t = 8500 m

t = (8500 m) / (5 m/sec) = 1700 sec, or 28.33 min (since 60 sec = 1 min)