In the United States, the maintanance and contruction of airports, transit systems, and major roads are largely funded through a federal excise tax on gasoline. Based on the 2011 statistics given below, how much did the average house hold pay per year in federal gasoline taxes?
* The federal gasoline tax rate was 18.4 cents per gallon.
* The average motor vehicles was driven approximately 11,340 miles per year.
* The national average fuel economy for noncommercial vehicles was 21.4 miles per gallon.
* The average American household owned 1.75 vehicles.

Options

A. 55.73
B. 68.91
C. 97.52
D. 170.63

Answer

To find out how much the average household in the United States paid per year in federal gasoline taxes based on the given statistics, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Determine the total miles driven by all vehicles in a household.
Given:
- Average miles driven per vehicle per year = 11,340 miles
- Average number of vehicles per household = 1.75

**Calculation:**
Total miles driven by all vehicles in a household = Average miles driven per vehicle × Average number of vehicles
\[ \text{Total miles} = 11,340 \text{ miles} \times 1.75 = 19,845 \text{ miles} \]

### Step 2: Calculate the total gallons of gasoline consumed.
Given:
- National average fuel economy = 21.4 miles per gallon

**Calculation:**
Total gallons consumed = Total miles driven / Fuel economy
\[ \text{Total gallons} = \frac{19,845 \text{ miles}}{21.4 \text{ miles per gallon}} \approx 926.5 \text{ gallons} \]

### Step 3: Calculate the total federal gasoline tax paid.
Given:
- Federal gasoline tax rate = 18.4 cents per gallon

**Calculation:**
Total tax paid = Total gallons consumed × Gasoline tax rate
\[ \text{Total tax} = 926.5 \text{ gallons} \times 18.4 \text{ cents per gallon} \approx 17,063.6 \text{ cents} \]

### Step 4: Convert the total tax from cents to dollars.
**Calculation:**
\[ \text{Total tax in dollars} = \frac{17,063.6 \text{ cents}}{100} \approx 170.64 \text{ dollars} \]

### Final Answer:
The average household paid approximately **$170.64** in federal gasoline taxes per year.

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