The fuel gauge in Nic’s car says that he has 26 miles to go until his tank is empty. He passed a fuel station 19 miles ago, and a sign says there is a town only 8 miles ahead. If he takes a chance and drives ahead to the town and there isn’t a fuel station there, does he have enough fuel to go back to the last station? Include a diagram along a number line, and use absolute value to find your answer
No Nick does not have enough fuel to go to the next town (8 miles away), drive back to the gas station he passed (27 miles, 8 + 19). That is 35 miles total driving and his gauge says he has enough gas to drive 26 miles.
8 miles 8 miles 19 miles = 35 miles
Answer: If he goes to the town and there is not a fuel station, he can not go back to the previous fuel station.
Step-by-step explanation:
Nic can only drive for another 26 miles.
If he goes to the town, that is 8 miles away, he will have a total of:
26 - 8 = 18 miles left.
Now, the fuel station was 19 miles away from the initial position, but he is now in the town, other 8 miles away, so he is at 19 + 8 = 27 miles away from the fuel station, and he only has 18 miles left, so he can not go back to the fuel station.
