March 2010
Problem of the Month

Prius Problem #1

Mr. P's 1998 Honda Accord has a capacity of 17.12 gallons and Mrs. P's 2010 Toyota Prius has a capacity of 11.9 gallons.

If the Prius has a range of 137 miles more than the Accord, and the sum of the ranges of the two cars is 1,205 miles, determine the average miles per gallon for each car.

Solution to the Problem:

The Prius gets 56.4 mpg and the Accord gets 31.2 mpg.

Let x = mpg of the Accord and let y = mpg of the Prius.
Then the Accord can go 17.12x miles and the Prius can travel 11.9y miles.

Set up two equations:
11.9y + 17.12x = 1205
11.9y - 17.12x = 137

Solving, we get 23.8y = 1342
so y = 56.4 mpg and x = 31.2 mpg.

Correctly solved by:

1. Michael Brown	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming
2. Jacob Harmon	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming
3. Jeremy Harmon	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming
4. David & Judy Dixon	Bennettsville, South Carolina

Send any comments or questions to: David Pleacher