# Calculating the total cost of gasoline for a trip

1. Mar 26, 2007

### Embison

I need help estimating the cost of gasoline for a trip Im planning on making in my car. I've been out of school for awhile so appologies for the simplicity of this question.

Can someone help show me how to calculate this question with the answer included?

The car get's 19 miles per gallon. Gasoline here is about 95 cents a litre. We don't use gallons. And the trip is 2500 miles.

How much will the total cost of gasoline be for that trip?

thank you!!

2. Mar 26, 2007

### Loudog

Well 1 US gallon = 3.785 litres, So multiply 3.785*.95 to get your cost per gallon which is right about $3.60/Gal. Then you can Divide 2500/19 to see how many gallons you will use, so about 132 Gallons for the trip. Then just multiply$3.60*132=$475.20. So your looking at about$500 in gas for the trip, if im wrong forgive me its been a long day.

3. Mar 26, 2007

### Integral

Staff Emeritus
So do you really calculate miles per gallon? or is that 19 km per l?

4. Mar 27, 2007

### HallsofIvy

It does seem strange that you would use gallons when your local stations are selling gasoline by the liter!

5. Mar 27, 2007

### Embison

It's because my trip is 99% in the States and I live in Canada.

6. Mar 27, 2007

### HallsofIvy

Ah! But that means that 99% of your gasoline will be bought in gallons. I would have thought you would reverse the figures. First, can you be sure that the price of gas in the U.S. is at all the same as in Canada? (Probably is, but I don't know). Also you will need to convert from Canadian dollars to U.S. dollars.

In any case, convert cost per litre to cost per gallon as Loudog said. Then: given that the trip is 2500 miles, divide that by your milage: 19 miles/gallon to determine that the whole trip will require 2500/19= 131.6 gallons, approximately. Here where I live, gas is about $2.50 U.S. per gallon so that would cost 131.5(2.5)=$329 U.S., approximately.

(I remember working at a gas station pumping gas for 25 cents a gallon. And I not that old!)

7. Mar 27, 2007

### Embison

I remember those days too lol. Wish i was making my trip back then! :] Yea I know my question isn't perfect..But it doesn't matter because I only needed an estimation. It was actually because I was looking at an american website that told me the miles per gallon..and I averaged out the gas prices around here. I don't know exactly where I'll be stopping in the U.S. to get gas and the prices could be drastically different from state to state..so it was actually easier to just average out the gas price here. Plus the canadian version of the car comapnies website has it listed in kilometers per liter. If I was able to figure out the average gas price across the states im gonna be travelling through (which i dont exactly know yet) i would have prefered to use gallons. I prefer to use american measurements a lot more. Except litres are kinda cooler than gallons lol.