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Gas is still about $4.29 a gallon. What a fill-up costs you
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The average price of a gallon of regular gas in the United States was $4.29 on October 25, according to AAA. That is down a little from $4.41 on October 1, but still high. AAA says crude oil, the raw material gasoline is made from, is again close to $100 a barrel.
For a teen who drives to school or to a job, that shows up at the pump. Filling 10 gallons costs about $43. If you use the car a lot, gas can take a big bite out of a part-time paycheck, so it helps to know what each trip costs.
Your money: What a trip really costs: the gas math
To find what a drive costs in gas, use miles per gallon, or mpg. A car that gets 25 mpg uses 1 gallon for every 25 miles. A 100-mile trip uses 100 ÷ 25 = 4 gallons.
Now multiply by the price. At $4.29 a gallon, 4 gallons cost 4 × $4.29 = $17.16. If gas were still $4.41, the same trip would cost $17.64. Small price changes add up when you drive every week.
Knowing the cost lets you plan. You can chip in for gas when a friend drives you, check whether a job's pay covers the drive, or combine errands into one trip.
Words to know
Write what each word means in your own words.
- Miles per gallon
- Crude oil
- Free cash flow
Questions
The story
- In one sentence, what happened in the top story?
- If gas costs this much, how would it change the way you get to school, a job or a friend's house?
Do the math
- A car gets 25 miles per gallon. Gas is $4.29 a gallon. About how much does a 100-mile trip cost in gas? Show your work.
Your turn
- Your car gets 30 miles per gallon and gas costs $4 a gallon. A trip to your job is 90 miles round trip. What does one trip cost in gas? What do 5 trips a week cost?
Quiz
- A car gets 20 miles per gallon and gas costs $4 a gallon. About how much does a 100-mile trip cost in gas? Circle one.
- $20
- $25
- $16
- $80
What do you think?
- When a friend drives you around, who should pay for the gas, and how should you split it? Answer in two or three sentences, and give a reason.
Answer key
Words to know
- Miles per gallon: How many miles a car can go on one gallon of gas. A higher number means the car uses less fuel.
- Crude oil: Oil pumped from the ground that is refined into gasoline and other fuels.
- Free cash flow: The cash a company has left after paying its bills and investing in the business.
Questions
- Answers will vary: a clear one-sentence summary of the top story.
- Answers will vary. Look for a specific reason tied to the story.
- about $17. 100 ÷ 25 = 4 gallons. 4 × $4.29 = $17.16, which is about $17.
- 90 ÷ 30 = 3 gallons. 3 × $4 = $12 per trip. 5 × $12 = $60 a week.
- A. $20. 100 ÷ 20 = 5 gallons. 5 × $4 = $20.
- Answers will vary. Look for a clear opinion backed by a reason.
Optional: tomorrow's bell-ringer, before first period
Tomorrow's bell-ringer in your inbox before first period: a five-minute money-news briefing with class slides, a quiz and a worksheet like this one. Free. You don't need it to use any worksheet.