Megan and her twin April are seniors in high school. They worked throughout the summer to have enough money to buy cars, and it cost them every cent they had saved! Now they are trying to figure out how much it will cost them to run through the year. “I have no idea how much I will drive this year,” says Megan. “It’s 5 miles to school, I have soccer practice 3 times a week, which is 2 miles from school, and I probably drive 20 miles on the weekend.”“I’m about the same as you. Don’t forget in the summer we will probably each drive about a hundred miles a week.” Estimate how many miles Megan and April will each drive in the next 12 months.

1. Just give one estimate for them both as they drive about the same number of miles.

“Great. So how much do you think gas will cost us this year?” asks Megan. “Talk for yourself. My car runs on electricity! I only need to pay $0.12 per kilowatt hour, and it takes about 1 kilowatt hour to drive 3 miles,” says April.
2. Estimate April’s electricity cost for the upcoming year.

“Well, that’s confusing,” replies Megan. “They say my car gets 25 mpg highway and 17 mpg city. We don’t really live in a city, do we? Gas is currently $2.85 a gallon.”
3. Estimate Megan’s costs for the upcoming year.

To estimate how many miles Megan and April will each drive in the next 12 months, we need to calculate the total weekly miles and then multiply it by 52 weeks in a year. Let's break it down step by step:

1. Calculate Megan's weekly miles:
- Distance to school: 5 miles * 5 school days = 25 miles
- Soccer practice: 2 miles * 3 times a week = 6 miles
- Weekend driving: 20 miles
- Summer driving: 100 miles per week, estimated for 12 weeks = 1200 miles
Total weekly miles for Megan: 25 + 6 + 20 + 100 = 151 miles

2. Calculate April's weekly miles:
Since April's driving pattern is similar to Megan's, we can estimate that she will also drive around 151 miles per week.

Therefore, the estimated total number of miles both Megan and April will drive in the next 12 months is:
151 miles/week * 52 weeks = 7,852 miles each.

Moving on to the next question:

To estimate April's electricity cost for the upcoming year, we need to calculate the total number of kilowatt hours (kWh) she will use. Here's how we can do that:

1 kilowatt hour is equivalent to driving 3 miles. So, if April drives 7,852 miles in total (as estimated above), we can calculate the kWh used as follows:

7825 miles / 3 miles per kWh = 2608.33 kWh

Since we can't have a fraction of a kWh, we can round it up to the nearest whole number. Therefore, April will use approximately 2609 kWh.

Now, April mentioned that it costs $0.12 per kilowatt hour. To calculate her total electricity cost for the year, we can multiply the number of kWh used by the cost per kWh:

2609 kWh * $0.12/kWh = $313.08

Therefore, April's electricity cost for the upcoming year is estimated to be around $313.08.

Finally, let's estimate Megan's costs for the upcoming year:

To estimate Megan's costs, we need to calculate the total amount of gas she will consume. Here's how we can do that:

Megan's car gets 25 miles per gallon (mpg) on the highway and 17 mpg in the city. Since she doesn't live in a city, we can assume that her average mileage will be closer to the highway mileage.

Let's assume an average mileage of 22 mpg for Megan's driving.

So, if Megan drives 7,852 miles in total (as estimated above), we can calculate the total gallons of gas used as follows:

7852 miles / 22 mpg = 356.91 gallons

Since we can't have a fraction of a gallon, we can round it up to the nearest whole number. Therefore, Megan will need approximately 357 gallons of gas.

Now, Megan mentioned that gas is currently priced at $2.85 per gallon. To calculate her total gas cost for the year, we can multiply the number of gallons used by the cost per gallon:

357 gallons * $2.85/gallon = $1018.45

Therefore, Megan's gas cost for the upcoming year is estimated to be around $1018.45.

Note: These estimates are based on the given information and assumptions. The actual mileage and costs may vary.