A car starts a trip with 20 gallons of gas in its tank. The at traveled at an average speed of 65 miles per hour for 3 hours and consumed gas at a rate of 30 miles per gallon. What percent of the gas in the tank was used for the 3-hour trip?

Options

A. `32.5`
B. `33.0`
C. `33.5`
D. `34.0`

Answer

To solve the problem step by step, we will follow these calculations:

**Step 1: Calculate the distance traveled.**
The car travels at an average speed of 65 miles per hour for 3 hours.
Distance (D) can be calculated using the formula:
\[ D = \text{Speed} \times \text{Time} \]
\[ D = 65 \, \text{miles/hour} \times 3 \, \text{hours} = 195 \, \text{miles} \]

**Step 2: Calculate the amount of gas consumed.**
The car consumes gas at a rate of 30 miles per gallon. To find out how many gallons were used for the trip, we can use the formula:
\[ \text{Gas consumed (G)} = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Miles per gallon}} \]
\[ G = \frac{195 \, \text{miles}}{30 \, \text{miles/gallon}} = 6.5 \, \text{gallons} \]

**Step 3: Calculate the percentage of gas used.**
Initially, the car had 20 gallons of gas in the tank. To find the percentage of gas used, we can use the formula:
\[ \text{Percentage used} = \left( \frac{\text{Gas consumed}}{\text{Initial gas}} \right) \times 100 \]
\[ \text{Percentage used} = \left( \frac{6.5 \, \text{gallons}}{20 \, \text{gallons}} \right) \times 100 = 32.5\% \]

Thus, the percentage of gas in the tank that was used for the 3-hour trip is **32.5%**.

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