2017 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 12

Problem

Elmer's new car gives $50\%$ percent better fuel efficiency, measured in kilometers per liter, than his old car. However, his new car uses diesel fuel, which is $20\%$ more expensive per liter than the gasoline his old car used. By what percent will Elmer save money if he uses his new car instead of his old car for a long trip?

$\textbf{(A) } 20\% \qquad \textbf{(B) } 26\tfrac23\% \qquad \textbf{(C) } 27\tfrac79\% \qquad \textbf{(D) } 33\tfrac13\% \qquad \textbf{(E) } 66\tfrac23\%$

Solution

Suppose that his old car runs at $x$ km per liter. Then his new car runs at $\frac{3}{2}x$ km per liter, or $x$ km per $\frac{2}{3}$ of a liter. Let the cost of the old car's fuel be $c$ , so the trip in the old car takes $xc$ dollars, while the trip in the new car takes $\frac{2}{3}\cdot\frac{6}{5}xc = \frac{4}{5}xc$ . He saves $\frac{\frac{1}{5}xc}{xc} = \boxed{\textbf{(A)}\ 20\%}$ .

2017 AMC 10B (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 11	Followed by Problem 13
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2017 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 12

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