Question

Solve. Richard Saltwood's car averages 270 miles on its 18-gallon tank of gas. If Richard runs out of gas and a mechanic comes to his rescue with 2 3/10 gallons of gas, determine how far his car can go. Round to the nearest mile.

Answer 1

35 miles

Explanation:

We can make a proportion, since we know the number of miles per 18 gallons, so for 2 3/10 gallons we can calculate the number of miles proportionally

`\begin{gathered} 2(3)/(10)=(23)/(10) \\ \text{The proportion is} \\ (270)/(18)=(x)/((23)/(10))\rightarrow(270)/(18)=(10x)/(23) \end{gathered}`

solving for x:

`\begin{gathered} 18\cdot10x=270\cdot23 \\ 180x=6210 \\ x=(6210)/(180) \\ x=34.5\cong35 \end{gathered}`

Therefore you can travel a total of 35 miles.