Global warming primarily results from the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the Earth's atmosphere. A sport utility vehicle (SUV) typically produces 4.31 pounds of CO₂ per gallon of gasoline consumed, is driven an average of 15,000 miles per year, and consumes gasoline at the rate of 14.2 miles per gallon. Calculate the annual production of CO₂ (in pounds) by a typical SUV.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To calculate the annual production of CO2 by a typical SUV, you divide the annual mileage by the miles per gallon to find the gallons of gasoline consumed annually, then multiply by the pounds of CO2 produced per gallon. This gives (15,000 miles / 14.2 miles per gallon) * 4.31 pounds of CO2 per gallon = 4,577 pounds of CO2 per year, which rounds to approximately 4600 lb/yr.

Global Warming Primarily Results from the Increasing Concentration of Carbon