Question

A car uses 5 gallons of gasoline to travel 97.5 miles. At this rate, how many miles can the car travel using 13 gallons of gasoline?

Answer 1

253.5 miles

Explanation:

This problem can be solved by using the concept of "ratios" and "proportions."

Step 1: Check for the "known" and "unknown" variables.

The known variables are: 5 gallons, 97.5 miles and 13 gallons while the unknown variable is the "number of miles" the car can travel using 13 gallons.

Step 2: It's time to plug the values into the proportion.

`(5 gallons)/(97.5 miles)` =
`(13 gallons)/(x miles)`

Step 3: Solve the proportion.

`(5)/(97.5)` =
`(13)/(x)` ⇒ 5x = 1,267.5 ⇒ x = 253.5 miles