Question

Last Saturday an accident caused a traffic jam 13 miles long on a stretch of the interstate. Would there be more or less vehicles if you were told there were a large number of SUVs and trucks present in this traffic jam? Explain your thinking and show all calculations.

Answer 1

The total number of vehicles in a traffic jam would depend on the average length of the vehicles. If there are a large number of SUVs and trucks, which are typically larger than other vehicles like sedans and compact cars, the total number of vehicles would likely be less because each vehicle takes up more space.

Here's how you could estimate this:

Let's assume the average length of a car is about 15 feet, and for an SUV or truck it's about 20 feet. This is a rough estimate and the actual lengths can vary significantly depending on the model of the car, SUV, or truck.

If the entire 13-mile stretch of the interstate was filled with cars that are each 15 feet long, the number of cars would be:

13 miles * 5280 feet/mile / 15 feet/car = about 46,080 cars.

If the same stretch was filled with SUVs or trucks that are each 20 feet long, the number of vehicles would be:

13 miles * 5280 feet/mile / 20 feet/vehicle = about 34,560 vehicles.

So if there were a large number of SUVs and trucks, you would expect fewer total vehicles in the traffic jam because each vehicle takes up more space.

Keep in mind this is a simplified calculation and doesn't take into account the space between vehicles or the different lanes on the interstate, among other factors.