A clean burning automobile engine emits 5lb. of carbon in the form of carbon dioxide for every gallon of gas,?

Question

that is consumed average car is driven 12,000 miles per year how do i check the statement that the average american car releases its own weight in carbon into the atmosphere each year???

Answer 1

You would need to know the MPG (miles per gallon).
Assuming X miles per gallon you would set it up like this:

12,000/X= Gallons used

(Gallons used)*(5 lbs per gallon)= weight of carbon emission

Mass of car - mass of carbon = 0

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I'll assume you get 25 MPG to show you how this works:

12,000/ 25MPG= 480 gallons used

480*5 lbs of carbon=2,400 lbs of carbon

Assuming you have a car that weighs a ton, it outputs more than it weights.

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Use this form using your values for
A) The MPG that the car gets
B) The weight of the car

Hope this helps!!

Answer 2

from your statement, A car releases 5lbs of Carbon for every gallon of fuel burnt.

Assuming that an Average American Automobile gives you 20 miles per gallon you have 600 gallons of Fuel consumed for 12000 miles of driving (12000/20 = 600)

So 600 gallons of fuel emits 3000lbs of Carbon (600 * 5 = 3000)

An average American car weighs anywhere from 2800lbs to 3500lbs (considering compact passenger vehicle). Thus you can validate that an average American car releases its own weight in carbon per year.