Many scientists believe that the increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is a major contributor to global warming. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that one gallon of gasoline produces on average about 19 pounds of CO2 when it is combusted in a car engine.
(a) Find a formula for the amount A of CO2 a car produces in terms of the number n of miles driven and the gas mileage G mi/gal of the car.
(b) Debbie owns an SUV that has a gas mileage of 22 mi/gal. Debbie drives 15,000 miles in one year. Use the formula you found in part (a) to find how much CO2 Debbie's car produces in one year. (Round your answer to the nearest pound.)
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(c) Debbie's friend Lisa owns a hybrid car that has a gas mileage of 54 mi/gal. Lisa also drives 15,000 miles in one year. Use the formula you found in part (a) to find how much CO2 Lisa's car produces in one year. (Round your answer to the nearest pound.)
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(a) To find a formula for the amount A of CO2 a car produces in terms of the number n of miles driven and the gas mileage G mi/gal of the car, we can start by understanding the relationship between these variables.
We know that one gallon of gasoline produces about 19 pounds of CO2. Therefore, for each gallon of gasoline used, the car produces 19 pounds of CO2.
Since the gas mileage of the car is given in miles per gallon (mi/gal), we can say that for every 1 gallon of gasoline, the car can travel G miles.
Now, if the car drives n miles, we can calculate the number of gallons of gasoline used by dividing the number of miles driven by the gas mileage:
Number of gallons used = n / G
And since each gallon of gasoline produces 19 pounds of CO2, we can multiply the number of gallons used by 19 to find the amount of CO2 produced:
Amount of CO2 produced (A) = (n / G) * 19
Therefore, the formula for the amount A of CO2 a car produces in terms of the number n of miles driven and the gas mileage G mi/gal of the car is:
A = (n / G) * 19
(b) To find how much CO2 Debbie's SUV produces in one year, we can use the formula from part (a) and substitute the given values.
Debbie's SUV has a gas mileage of 22 mi/gal and she drives 15,000 miles in one year.
A = (n / G) * 19
A = (15000 / 22) * 19
A ≈ 13,068 pounds
Therefore, Debbie's car produces approximately 13,068 pounds of CO2 in one year.
(c) To find how much CO2 Lisa's hybrid car produces in one year, we can again use the formula from part (a) and substitute the given values.
Lisa's hybrid car has a gas mileage of 54 mi/gal and she also drives 15,000 miles in one year.
A = (n / G) * 19
A = (15000 / 54) * 19
A ≈ 5,648 pounds
Therefore, Lisa's car produces approximately 5,648 pounds of CO2 in one year.