Average Fuel Consumption

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Average Fuel Consumption is a measure of how efficiently a vehicle uses fuel over a set period of time or distance. Here’s how it’s calculated in both the Imperial and metric systems:

1. Imperial System:

• Calculation: The average fuel consumption is determined by dividing the total distance driven by the amount of fuel consumed.
• Example: If a car drives 12,000 miles in a year and consumes 500 gallons of fuel, the average fuel consumption would be:
  \[ \text{Average fuel consumption} = \frac{12,000 \text{ miles}}{500 \text{ gallons}} = 24 \text{ miles per gallon (mpg)} \]

2. Metric System:

• Conversion: First, convert miles to kilometers and gallons to liters if necessary.
  • 12,000 miles = 19,312 kilometers
  • 500 U.S. gallons = 1,894 liters
• Calculation: In the metric system, fuel consumption is usually expressed as liters per 100 kilometers (l/100 km).
  • The calculation involves dividing the total liters of fuel by the total kilometers driven and then multiplying by 100:
    \[ \text{Metric fuel consumption} = \frac{1,894 \text{ liters}}{19,312 \text{ kilometers}} \times 100 = 9.8 \text{ l/100 km} \]

This method allows for easy comparison of fuel efficiency across different systems of measurement.

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