if gas is $1.99 a gallon; what is actual amount of gas you get for $2.00

Question

if gas is $1.99 a gallon; what is actual amount of gas you get for $2.00

Answer 1

This question highlights one of the fundamental differences in the precise way that we teach math and the very practical methods in which math is used in engineering, medicine, construction, ..., life.

 

Very practically, the amount of gas left in the hose at the pump is worth more that 1 cent.  There is just no practical way to measure 1 cent of gas -- you may notice that the pump registers several cents before any gas even exits from the hose (try carefully filling a gas can).  Thankfully, most states regulate this as closely as they can and attach weights and measures stickers to the pumps.

 

So, for anyone to say that $1.99 worth of gas is different from $2.00 worth of gas is just silly -- they are both within the range of acceptable errors in measurement !  (note: you realize that 1 cent's worth of gas at $3.00 per gallon means that you are measuring 1/300-th of a gallon;  let's see, 1 gallon = 128 ounces, so you are talking about less than half an ounce !)

 

Answer 2

Hello, thank you for taking the time to post your question!

You can just multiply by the conversion in order to convert it over

$2.00 x 1 gal / $1.99 = 2/1.99 gal = 1.005 gallons

So you would get approximately 1.005 gallons of gas for $2.00 if the price per gallon is $1.99

I hope that helps you get moving in a better direction on this type of question! Feel free to reach out if you have any additional questions beyond that :)

Answer 3

Try setting up a proportion! Let dollars be the numerator and the gallons of gas as the denominator.

 

$1.99/1 gal = $2.00/ x gal. Cross multiply to get x gals for $2.00 or gas. You do this by multiplying so that if you were to trace the math, you end at the unknown value (think of it as a zig-zag pattern, multiplying first then dividing). So you start with $2.00 and multiply it with 1 gal which gives you 2.00 (2.00•1=2.00). You then divide by $1.99 so the dollars unit cancel, giving you the gals of gas. 2.00÷1.99= 1.00502513 so $2.00 gives you 1.00502513 gals.

 

It should make sense: $2.00 is just over $1.99 so if $1.99 is for 1 gal, then $2.00 should yield a little more than a gal.