Question

During a certain time period, Car X traveled north along a straight road at a constant rate of 1 mile per minute and used fuel at a constant rate of 5 gallons every 2 hours. During this time period, if Car X used exactly 3.75 gallons of fuel, how many miles did Car X travel?

Hint:

To calculate distance, multiply the speed by the time. If fuel usage is given, use the rate to determine the time traveled.

Answer 1

Step 1: Determine the rate of fuel usage.
Car X uses 5 gallons of fuel every 2 hours. Thus, the fuel usage per hour is: \[ \text{Fuel usage per hour} = \frac{5}{2} = 2.5 \, \text{gallons per hour} \] Since Car X travels 1 mile per minute, the distance traveled in 1 hour is: \[ \text{Distance per hour} = 60 \, \text{miles per hour} \] Step 2: Calculate the total time Car X traveled.
If Car X used 3.75 gallons of fuel, the time it traveled is: \[ \text{Time traveled} = \frac{3.75}{2.5} = 1.5 \, \text{hours} \] Step 3: Calculate the total distance traveled.
Since Car X travels 60 miles per hour, the total distance traveled in 1.5 hours is: \[ \text{Total distance} = 60 \times 1.5 = 90 \, \text{miles} \] Step 4: Conclusion.
Thus, Car X traveled 90 miles.