There are two elements of expense to consider when you fill your car’s tank with gas.  The first one is obvious.  It is the cost per gallon for the gasoline itself.  The other factor is the cost of operating your car.  Both factors contribute to the overall expense of filling your tank.

The price of gas is an important factor in deciding where to make your next purchase.  You would not consider driving 100 miles just to save one cent on each gallon of gas you buy, so consider the following.

There are eight gas stations near your home.  Each station sells gas for a slightly different price and each station is located at a different distance from your home.  Driving costs money!.  For this exercise, we will use the following assumptions:

·         The gas tank in your car holds exactly 21 gallons.

·         Your gas gauge tells you exactly how much gas is in your tank.

·         You can travel a distance of 15 miles for each gallon of gas in the car’s tank.  (15 MPG)

·         It costs $.50 per mile to operate your car.

·         It will cost you $100 for a tow if you run out of gas.

This is a list of the gas stations near your home.

Gas Station                 Price (Per Gallon)             Distance (Miles)
Joe’s    $1.9    6.5
 
Bill’s    $1.7    8.0
 
Ed’s    $1.92    11.0
 
Sue’s    $1.66    9.0
 
Sally’s    $1.56    17.0
 
Tom’s    $1.38    18.0
 
Martha’s   $1.75    7.2
 
Frank’s    $2.0    2.0
 

Create a spreadsheet to help you answer the following questions:

1.       At which gas station will you find the best overall deal when you buy 10 gallons of gas?  (worth 3 points)

2.       If you need 15 gallons of gas, where is it least expensive overall to buy it?  (worth 3 points)

3.       If your gas gauge indicates you need 20 gallons to fill up the tank, which gas station will be the least expensive overall?  (worth 4 points)

To the right of each of the 3 columns that show the total cost to purchase gas add a column that automatically indicates which of the gas stations is the least expensive for each of the three previous questions.  Have it display a word like “Cheapest” or “Minimum” to indicate the station with the lowest total cost for that case.