Neco 2020 Agricultural Science Question 10

A farmer harvests \(1.2\) tonnes (\(1200\ \text{kg}\)) of fresh cassava roots with an initial moisture content of \(60\%\) (wet basis). He intends to produce dried cassava chips with a final moisture content of \(12\%\) (wet basis). The solar dryer used has an average drying rate of \(0.45\ \text{kg water m}^{-2}\ \text{h}^{-1}\) and can be operated \(8\) h per day.\n\n(a) Calculate the total mass of water that must be removed.\n\n(b) If the dryer has a collector area of \(10\ \text{m}^{2}\), how many whole days are required to complete the drying? (Round up to the next whole day.)\n\n(c) What is the minimum collector area (in m², rounded up to the nearest whole square metre) needed to finish the drying in exactly \(3\) days?