Question

There are 295 million vehicles across India driving about 12000 km yr$^{-1}$. Each vehicle consumes about 25 km l$^{-1}$ of petrol, and the amount of carbon released per litre is 5.5 g. What is the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere in mega tons per year?

Hint:

Always check unit conversions: litres → grams → kilograms → megatons.

Answer 1

Correct Answer: 0.78

Step 1: Fuel consumption per vehicle.
Distance driven = 12000 km.
Mileage = 25 km/l.
Fuel consumed = \[ \frac{12000}{25} = 480 \, litres \]
Step 2: Carbon released per vehicle.
Carbon per litre = 5.5 g.
For 480 litres: \[ 480 \times 5.5 = 2640 \, g = 2.64 \, kg \]
Step 3: Carbon released by all vehicles.
Number of vehicles = $295 \times 10^6$.
Total emission = \[ 2.64 \times 295 \times 10^6 = 7.788 \times 10^8 \, kg \]
Step 4: Convert to megatons.
1 megaton = $10^9$ kg.
\[ \frac{7.788 \times 10^8}{10^9} = 0.78 \, \text{megatons} \] Final Answer: \[ \boxed{0.78 \, \text{megaton per year}} \]