Question

You are running a fuel economy study. One of the cars you find is blue, it can travel 30.5 miles on 1.25 gallons of gas. Another car is red, it can travel 27.2 miles on 0.8 gallons of gas. What is the unit rate for miles per gallon for each car, and which car could travel the greater distance on one gallon of gas?

a. Blue car: 24.4 mpg, Red car: 34 mpg, Red car can travel a greater distance on one gallon of gas.
b. Blue car: 24.4 mpg, Red car: 33.75 mpg, Red car can travel a greater distance on one gallon of gas.
c. Blue car: 33.5 mpg, Red car: 30.5 mpg, Blue car can travel a greater distance on one gallon of gas.
d. Blue car: 34 mpg, Red car: 30 mpg, Blue car can travel a greater distance on one gallon of gas.

Answer 1

After calculating the fuel economy for both cars, the blue car has a fuel economy of 24.4 mpg, and the red car has a fuel economy of 34 mpg. The red car can travel a greater distance on one gallon of gas.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine which car has the better fuel economy in terms of miles per gallon (mpg), we must calculate the unit rate for each car. For the blue car, we use the provided data: 30.5 miles on 1.25 gallons of gas. The equation for fuel economy is as follows:

Miles per Gallon (mpg) = Total miles driven / Total gallons of gas used

For the blue car:

Miles per Gallon (mpg) = 30.5 miles / 1.25 gallons = 24.4 mpg

Similarly, for the red car, which can travel 27.2 miles on 0.8 gallons of gas:

Miles per Gallon (mpg) = 27.2 miles / 0.8 gallons = 34 mpg

Comparing the two, the red car has a higher fuel efficiency and can travel a greater distance on one gallon of gas. Therefore, the correct answer is:

a. Blue car: 24.4 mpg, Red car: 34 mpg, Red car can travel a greater distance on one gallon of gas.