Calculating Fuel Consumption for a 420km Trip: A Comprehensive Guide

Calculating Fuel Consumption for a 420km Trip: A Comprehensive Guide

One of the essential tasks for any road trip or long-distance journey involves calculating the fuel consumption. If you are planning a 420km trip and your car has a fuel efficiency of 12 kilometers per liter, how much fuel will you need? Let's break down the process step-by-step to ensure accuracy and clarity.

Understanding Mileage Efficiency

Mileage efficiency, often referred to as fuel efficiency, is a measure of how far a vehicle can travel on a given amount of fuel. In this case, your car consumes 1 liter of fuel to travel 12 kilometers (km).

Calculating the Required Fuel

To calculate the amount of fuel needed for a 420 km trip, you can use the following formula:

Fuel needed Distance ÷ Fuel Efficiency

Given:

Distance to travel: 420 km Fuel efficiency: 12 km/litre

Calculation:

Fuel needed 420 km ÷ 12 km/litre 35 litres

Therefore, you will require 35 liters of fuel to travel 420 kilometers.

Practical Applications and Tips

Understanding how to calculate fuel consumption is not only useful for planning trips but also for long-term cost management. Whether you are a frequent traveler or a part-time driver, knowing the fuel efficiency of your vehicle can help you estimate the cost and plan your budget accordingly.

Simple Calculation Techniques

Calculating fuel consumption can sometimes be approached with simple mathematics, especially for straightforward cases like this one. Let's break it down further:

To travel 420 km:

Distance to travel: 420 km Fuel efficiency: 12 km/litre

You would calculate the fuel needed as follows:

Fuel needed 420 km ÷ 12 km/litre 35 litres

Mastering Unit Cancellation and Dimensional Analysis

Another effective method to solve such problems is through unit cancellation or dimensional analysis. This technique involves setting up the problem in a way that units can be canceled out, leaving only the desired unit (in this case, liters).

To do this for a 420 km trip with 12 km/litre:

420 km × 35 litres

The kilometers cancel out, leaving us with the answer in liters.

Conclusion

Calculating fuel consumption for a 420 km trip is a straightforward process once you understand the basic formula and techniques. With a car that uses 12 kilometers per liter, you would need 35 liters of fuel. This knowledge can help you plan your trip more effectively and manage your budget. Happy driving!