Question

The gas mileage for a car is 23 miles per gallon when the car travels at 60 miles per hour. The car begins a trip with 13 gallons in its tank, travels at an average speed of 60 miles per hour for h hours, and ends the trip with 10 gallons in its tank. Which of the following equations best models this situation? A. 13 − 23h/60 ​= 10 B. 13 − 60h/23 ​= 10 C. (13 − 60h)/23 ​= 10 D. (13 − 23h​)/60 = 10

Answer 1

The correct equation modeling the car's gas usage is B: 13 - (60h/23) = 10, which accounts for the car's initial fuel, total miles traveled, and the fuel efficiency to determine the remaining fuel after traveling for h hours at 60 mph.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question revolves around finding the correct equation to model a situation where a car travels a certain distance at a fixed gas mileage rate and then calculating how much fuel is left in the tank after the trip. To determine the correct model, consider that the car has a gas mileage of 23 miles per gallon and starts with 13 gallons in the tank. After traveling for h hours at 60 miles per hour, the car ends with 10 gallons in the tank.

First, calculate the total miles traveled, which is 60 miles/hour multiplied by h hours (60h miles). Then divide that number by the car's gas mileage (23 miles/gallon) to find out how many gallons were used during the trip (60h/23 gallons). Therefore, to find the remaining fuel, you subtract the used gallons from the starting gallons, which should be equal to the ending gallons, 10. This gives us Equation B: 13 − (60h/23) = 10.