| |
Fuel
Economy
Program
Area
This activity
provides practice in operations with real numbers, problem solving
skills, ratio and proportion, and critical thinking.
It may be
used in the Grade 9 Mathematics, Science and Technology Program,
or in the advanced and general Grade 10 Mathematics courses as
a supplement to any section on number manipulation skills, problem
solving, ratio and proportion, or as enrichment material.
Learning
Outcomes
Teaching,
learning and evaluation will focus on the student's ability to:
- Practice
number skills, problem solving techniques, and ratio and proportion;
- Learn
about how fuel economy of vehicles is stated and used;
- Learn
to do various calculations which involve fuel economy ratings;
- Learn
about some of the implications of a vehicle's fuel economy ratings;
- Discuss
fuel economy from an environmental point of view and suggest
ways in which fuel economy might be increased.
Classroom
Development
- Use this
unit as a supplement to sections on number skills, problem solving,
or ratio and proportion.
- Students
could work in small groups to discuss the meaning and importance
of fuel economy ratings.
- It may
be necessary to work through one or two examples of fuel economy
problems with the class before the students begin the questions
on the worksheets.
- Students
should do the questions on the attached pages. Working cooperatively
in groups would be appropriate.
- Have
the solutions presented by groups of students and use these
solutions to encourage discussion of fuel economy, why it is
important, and some of the benefits to society and to the individual.
Timing
Allow 2
periods (70 min)
Cross-disciplinary
Links
This activity
links well with energy conservation materials in the Grade 9 Self
and Society Program and in the Grade 10 Science, Environmental
Science and Geography courses.
Student
Activities
Fuel
Economy
In Canada,
a car or truck's fuel economy is measured in litres per 100 kilometres
(L/100 km). For example, a car's fuel economy rating may be 8.7
L/100 km. This means that, on average, the car burns 8.7 litres
of fuel to travel 100 kilometres. By doing the following problems
you will gain a better understanding of fuel economy.
- Rank
the following fuel economy ratings from best (most fuel efficient)
to worst (least fuel efficient). Use the numbers from 1 to 5
to rank them-1 is the best, 5 is the worst.
| |
Your ranking (best
to worst) |
| 12.6 L/100 km |
|
| 6.2 L/100 km |
|
| 9.5 L/100 km |
|
| 7.3 L/100 km |
|
| 10.7 L/100 km |
|
-
-
- A car
has a fuel economy rating of 9.3 L/100 km.
- (a)
How many litres of gasoline will be needed to travel:
- (i)
325 km?
- (ii)
750 km?
-
- (b)
How many kilometres can this car travel on:
- (i)
45.7 L of fuel?
- (ii)
65.2 L of fuel?
-
- (c)
The capacity of the fuel tank is 58.5 L. What is the cruising
range of the car?
- Find,
correct to one decimal place, the fuel economy of:
- (a)
a car which travels 450 km on 52.5 L of fuel.
- (b)
a van which travels 415 km on 65.0 L of fuel.
- (c)
a transport truck which travels 6000 km on 1482 L of fuel.
-
-
- Two families
drive to Florida for the March break. One family drives a car
whose fuel economy rating is 7. 3 L/100 km, and the other drives
a car which is rated at 10.5 L/100 km. Each family traveled
5200 km and the average cost for fuel was 45.7¢ per litre.
Calculate the amount of fuel that each family used for the trip
and also the cost for fuel for each family.
- Suppose
that you or your family drives a car whose fuel economy is 10.6
L/100 km. By having the engine tuned up you can improve the
fuel economy to 8.9 L/100 km but the tune up will cost $125.
You drive an average of 20 000 km per year and fuel costs 58.9¢
per litre. Calculate the savings or the costs which will result
over the next year by having the engine tuned up now.
- Repeated
tests show that the fuel economy of a car is 7.5 L/100 km for
highway driving and 12.7 L/100 km for city driving. This car
is to be taken on a vacation trip of 8000 km which is 70% highway
driving and the rest is city driving.
- (a)
Calculate, correct to one decimal place, the expected overall
fuel economy on this trip.
- (b)
Use your answer to part (a) to compute the expected cost
for fuel on this trip if the average cost per litre of fuel
is 60.3¢.
-
- Let's
suppose that on average, cars operate with a fuel efficiency
of 9.3 L/100km. Let's also suppose that we could increase the
fuel efficiency of every vehicle to 7.3 L/100km.
- (a)
How many litres of fuel would be saved each year by a person
who drives 20 000 km per year?
- (b)
If there were 250 000 vehicles in a city, and each of them
could burn that much less fuel, how many litres of fuel
would be saved?
- (c)
If the cost of fuel is 59.5¢ per litre, how much money
would be saved?
- (d)
Think of some worthwhile community projects that could be
financed with this saved money.
- (e)
There are over 12 000 000 vehicles in Canada. Perform calculations
for Canada similar to those you did for the city in parts
(b) and (c). Then suggest several worthwhile national projects
that could be financed with the saved money.
- Clearly
there are financial advantages for the consumer to increasing
the fuel efficiency of his or her car. Now try to think more
globally (for example, think about society or the physical environment).
- (a)
What are some other advantages to increasing the fuel economy
of vehicles?
- (b)
Suggest some ways that we could improve the fuel economy of
our vehicles.
- (c)
Do you see any disadvantages to increasing the fuel economy
of vehicles? If so, what are they
|
|
