The distance between port M and port N is 162 mi. A ship left port M with a speed of 45 mph. In 45 minutes another ship left port N and went towards the first ship with a speed of 36 mph. How long after the departure of the first ship will the two ships meet?

900 minutes

To get explanation go here:

since your problem is x^4 = 81, what you have to undeo is the "to the fourth power" part.

the inverse (opposite operation) of "to the fourth power" is "to the fourth root".

  (x^4) ^ ¼   = 81 ^ ¼  

  81 = 3^4     so (3 ^ 4) ^ ¼   =   3 ^ 1   = 3

by hand: (3 ^ 4) ^ ¼   =   3 ^ (4 x ¼) = 3 ^ 1   = 3   (when you take a power to a power, multiply the exponents.)

or, do it by calculator. one way of finding the fourth root is to use ^ (1/4)

step-by-step explanation:

what i would say the best answer is a. 40.5