Final answer:
The inequality that represents the number of gallons needed for a 324-mile trip, given a car's fuel economy of 24 miles per gallon, is g >= 324 / 24. Solving this gives at least 13.5 gallons, which rounds up to 14 gallons of gasoline.
Step-by-step explanation:
To write an inequality that represents the number of gallons needed for the car to travel 324 miles, when the car gets 24 miles per gallon, you would set up the inequality based on the fact that the number of gallons needed must be greater than or equal to the total miles divided by miles per gallon.
The inequality would be: g >= 324 / 24
where g represents the number of gallons of gasoline. To solve this inequality, you would divide 324 by 24, which equals 13.5. This means that you need at least 13.5 gallons of gasoline to travel 324 miles. However, since you cannot pump half a gallon accurately and it's always better to have a little more fuel than exactly needed, you'd round this number up to the nearest whole number if you're actually fuelling up your car. Therefore, you should have at least 14 gallons of gasoline to ensure you can complete the trip without running out of fuel.