How much gasoline do you need to travel from Chicago to Detroit?

Grade level:  5th grades

Skills: Convert measurement (volume: gallons, quarts, pints & cups)

Related environmental issues: Energy

Area level: National, State, Regional, Household

Five families had a trip from Chicago, Illinois, to Detroit, Michigan, which is 300 miles, and calculated how much gasoline they used. The table below shows each family’s car and the amount of gasoline they used.

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  1. Show the amount of gasoline Parker family used in gallons and cups.
  2. Show the amount of gasoline Brown family used in gallons, quarts, and cups.
  3. Show the amount of gasoline Lewis family used in gallons and cups.
  4. Show the amount of gasoline Harris family used in gallons and quarts.
  5. Show the amount of gasoline Rogers family used in gallons and cups.

Source: Cars.com, Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: September 2015

Note) The five cars shown here are top 5 best-selling cars in September, 2015, in the United States.  The fuel economy (city/highway combined) of the 2016 Ram 1500 (4WD),  2016 Honda Accord (2.4 L, 4 cyl, Automatic), the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado (K15 4WD), the 2016 Ford F150 (3.5L 4WD GVWR), and the 2016 Toyota Camry (2.5 L, 4 cyl, Automatic (S6)  is 22, 31, 19, 17, and 28, respectively.

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Answer keys

  1. 13 gallons 8 cups (1 pint = 2 cups)
  2. 9 gallons 2 quarts 2 cups (1 quart = 4 cups)
  3. 15 gallons 13 cups
  4. 17 gallons 2 quarts (1 quart = 2 pints)
  5. 10 gallons 10 cups