Solutions to Auto CO2 Study
Gasoline Consumption
In the first module of this study, total gasoline consumption rate is determined using three factors: number of vehicles, average miles driven per year per vehicle, and fuel efficiency. Using data from selected years between 1980 and 1997, the following functions were computed.
The rate of gasoline consumption at time t was approximated by the function
The data and regression for each factor is shown below.
Number of Vehicles
Average Miles Drive
Average Fuel Efficiency
Carbon Dioxide Emission
In the second module of this study, a function describing carbon dioxide emission from passenger vehicles was constructed. The function was determined by multiplying the gasoline consumption function from Module 1 by 19.6, the constant rate of CO2 emission per gallon of gasoline burned.
