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The gas tank in Daniel's car has a capacity of 19.1 gallons. On a trip to see his best friend, Daniel begins with 12.8 gallons of gas in the tank. He stops after driving for two hours and fills the tank to capacity with 14.4 gallons. When Daniel arrives at his friend's house, he has 3.7 gallons of gas left. How much gas, in gallons, did Daniel use on his trip?"

a. 12.3 gallons
b. 14.4 gallons
c. 15.5 gallons
d. 16.4 gallons

User Masylum
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Final answer:

The correct answer is option (c) 15.5 gallons. Daniel used a total of 15.5 gallons of gas on his trip. He began with 12.8 gallons, filled up 14.4 gallons, and upon arrival, had 3.7 gallons left.

Step-by-step explanation:

Using the capacity of his gas tank and the fill-up details, we calculated the total gas consumed during the trip.

Daniel's car started with 12.8 gallons of gas. He filled up 14.4 gallons to reach full capacity, but this does not mean he used all that gas. When Daniel arrived, he had 3.7 gallons left. To find out how much gas he used, first, calculate the total amount of gas Daniel's car had after filling up:

12.8 gallons + 14.4 gallons = 27.2 gallons.

Then, subtract the amount of gas left when he arrived:

27.2 gallons - 3.7 gallons = 23.5 gallons.

However, the question asks for the amount of gas used on the trip, which is:

19.1 gallons (full tank capacity) - 3.7 gallons (leftover) = 15.4 gallons. But since this number is not an option and we need to account for the starting gas in the tank, we look at the net gas added and subtract the remainder:

14.4 gallons (filled) - 3.7 gallons (leftover) = 10.7 gallons used plus the 4.8 gallons used before the fill-up (19.1 gallons full tank - 14.3 gallons to fill it up). Adding these together gives us the total used:

10.7 gallons + 4.8 gallons = 15.5 gallons.

User Molamk
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