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A family is planning a road trip. Their van can travel about 15.6 miles per gallon of gas. If the average cost of gasoline is estimated to be $1.71/gal. How much will fuel cost on the trip if they travel 3,986 miles? (Round to 3 SF)

Use the following equivalent relationships in your dimensional analysis calculation.

15.6 miles = 1 gal
$1.71 = 1 gal

A. $266.622
B. $327.631
C. $416.491
D. $509.383

1 Answer

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The fuel cost for the trip will be approximately $436.92 (rounded to 3 significant figures). Hence the correct option is c which is nearest to the correct answer.

To calculate the fuel cost for the road trip, we can use dimensional analysis to convert the distance traveled (in miles) to the cost of gasoline (in dollars). The given equivalent relationships are:

15.6miles=1gallon

$1.71=1gallon

First, let's convert the distance of the road trip to gallons using the first relationship:

3986miles× 1gallon/15.6miles

This gives us the quantity of gallons needed for the trip. Now, we can find the cost by multiplying this quantity by the cost per gallon, using the second relationship:

Fuel cost=(3986miles× 1gallon/15.6miles)×$1.71

After performing this calculation, the result is approximately $436.9269. Therefore, the fuel cost for the road trip is approximately $436 rounded to three significant figures. The correct answer is option C which is nearest to the answer.

User George Madrid
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