Americans combined drive about 4.0×109 miles per day and their vehicles get an average of 20 miles per gallon of fuel used. For each 1 kg of gasoline that is burned, about 3.0 kg of CO2 are produced. How many kilograms of CO2 are emitted into the atmosphere each day by cars in the U.S.? One gallon of gas weighs about 3.5 kg.
My answer is 2.1x10^8, is this correct?
I don't think so but let's see.
4E9 miles/day x 1 gallon/20 miles = 2e8 gallons gasoline/day burned.
2e8 gallons gasoline x 3.5 kg/gallon = 7e8 kg gasoline
For every kg gasoline you get 3.0 kg CO2 so
7e8 kg gasoline x 3.0 kg CO2/1 kg gasoline = 2.1e9
Check my work to make sure I didn't make a decimal error.
Ohh, i guess i miscount the 0 when moving the decimal. thank you :)
Well, let's calculate it in a funny way!
If Americans combined drive about 4.0 x 10^9 miles per day and their vehicles get an average of 20 miles per gallon of fuel, it means they burn around 2.0 x 10^8 gallons of gas each day. Since one gallon of gas weighs about 3.5 kg, that's like burning through 7.0 x 10^8 kilograms of gas daily.
According to the given information, for every 1 kg of gasoline burned, about 3.0 kg of CO2 are produced. So when we multiply 7.0 x 10^8 kg of gas by 3.0 kg of CO2, we get a whopping 2.1 x 10^9 kg of CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere each day.
Therefore, I'm sorry, but your answer is incorrect. The correct answer is 2.1 x 10^9 kg, not 2.1 x 10^8 kg. But hey, don't fret! We all make mistakes sometimes, and at least you gave it a good shot! Keep up the good work, CO2 calculator!
To find out how many kilograms of CO2 are emitted into the atmosphere each day by cars in the U.S., we'll need to calculate the following steps:
Step 1: Find the total gallons of fuel used per day.
Total miles driven per day = 4.0x10^9 miles
Average miles per gallon = 20 miles/gallon
Total gallons of fuel used per day = Total miles driven per day / Average miles per gallon
Step 2: Convert gallons of fuel to kilograms of gasoline.
1 gallon of gas weighs about 3.5 kg.
Total kilograms of gasoline used per day = Total gallons of fuel used per day * 3.5 kg/gallon
Step 3: Calculate the amount of CO2 produced per day.
For each 1 kg of gasoline burned, about 3.0 kg of CO2 are produced.
Total kilograms of CO2 produced per day = Total kilograms of gasoline used per day * 3.0 kg CO2/kg gasoline
Let's calculate:
Step 1: Total gallons of fuel used per day
Total miles driven per day = 4.0x10^9 miles
Average miles per gallon = 20 miles/gallon
Total gallons of fuel used per day = (4.0x10^9 miles) / (20 miles/gallon)
= 2.0x10^8 gallons
Step 2: Convert gallons of fuel to kilograms of gasoline
1 gallon of gas weighs about 3.5 kg
Total kilograms of gasoline used per day = (2.0x10^8 gallons) * (3.5 kg/gallon)
= 7.0x10^8 kg
Step 3: Calculate the amount of CO2 produced per day
For each 1 kg of gasoline burned, about 3.0 kg of CO2 are produced
Total kilograms of CO2 produced per day = (7.0x10^8 kg) * (3.0 kg CO2/kg gasoline)
= 2.1x10^9 kg CO2
Therefore, the correct answer is 2.1x10^9 kilograms of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere each day by cars in the U.S.
To find the answer, we need to break down the problem step by step.
First, let's calculate the total fuel consumption of cars in the U.S. per day. Given that Americans drive 4.0x10^9 miles per day and their vehicles get an average of 20 miles per gallon, we can find the total fuel consumption by dividing the total distance driven by the fuel efficiency:
Total fuel consumption (in gallons) = Total distance driven (in miles) / Fuel efficiency (miles per gallon)
Total fuel consumption = 4.0x10^9 miles / 20 miles per gallon
= 2.0x10^8 gallons of fuel
Next, we need to convert the gallons of fuel to kilograms, since we know that one gallon of gas weighs about 3.5 kg:
Total fuel consumption (in kilograms) = Total fuel consumption (in gallons) * Weight of 1 gallon of gas (in kg)
Total fuel consumption = 2.0x10^8 gallons * 3.5 kg/gallon
= 7.0x10^8 kg of fuel
Finally, we need to calculate the amount of CO2 emitted per kilogram of fuel burned. We are given that for each 1 kg of gasoline burned, about 3.0 kg of CO2 are produced:
CO2 emitted per kilogram of fuel burned = 3.0 kg CO2 / 1 kg of fuel
Now, we can find the total amount of CO2 emitted each day by multiplying the total fuel consumption by the amount of CO2 emitted per kilogram of fuel burned:
Total CO2 emitted each day = Total fuel consumption * CO2 emitted per kilogram of fuel burned
= 7.0x10^8 kg * 3.0 kg CO2 / 1 kg of fuel
= 2.1x10^9 kg CO2
Based on the calculations, it appears that the correct answer is 2.1x10^9 kg of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere each day by cars in the U.S., not 2.1x10^8 kg as you initially mentioned.