Our 2002 Pontiac Grand Am hit 100,000 miles today while I was driving home from the gym. I bought this car back in 2003 with 33,000 miles on it and have been the primary driver until last February when we got our Jeep. I have driven or have been a passenger for most of the 67,000 miles since I bought the car. This car has not been very far from home but the most noteworthy trip it took us on was to Pennyrile State Park, Kentucky the place where the title of this blog originated. Currently, I take the car whenever I'm going out by myself and Matt is home with Grace but for the most part Matt drives it. So it was with great joy that I witnessed the rollover to 6 digits. The only annoying part is I was driving down a road with stoplights and for the whole mile it was stuck at 100,000 I hit all green lights. That never happens!
One more 100,000 mile story. Back in college I witnessed my Chevy Cavalier rollover to 100,000 miles and I was bound and determined to park it like that. So, I drove in and out of a parking space for a whole mile. So, here is your math question for the day...
STORY PROBLEM: A mile is 5,280 feet and I drove approximately 6 feet to back up and 6 feet to pull into the parking space. If I started at exactly 99,999 miles how many times did I have to back out and pull into the space before my car rolled to 100,000 miles? Also, if it took 4 seconds to back out and 3 seconds to pull in how long did it take me to accomplish this task? What was my average speed in miles per hour? (Round to the nearest hundredth).
BONUS: After I parked my car how many miles could I drive before it rolled to 100,001 miles?
The first person to comment the correct answer will win a prize. Maybe a new car. I will announce the prize and winner at a future date.
8 comments:
My math is rusty but I'll have a go.
You'd have to pull in 440 times and out 440 times which would take about 51.3 minutes and speed would be about 1.17 miles/hour. And I feel like the bonus is a trick question because if you stop at 100,000 miles and you want to get to 100,001 you'd just drive 1 more mile.
Here's my GUESS at a solution to your story problem. 440 unpark/park cycles, taking 51 minutes 20 seconds, for an average speed of 1.17 mph. And for the bonus, you can drive one mile before you get to 100,001.
Oh man, I was too slow by mere minutes
Assertion 1: Ferris Bueller's Day Off provides evidence that driving in reverse neither rolls back mileage nor adds further mileage
Assertion 2: Your car was at precisely 99,999 miles when you started going into and out of a parking space.
Therefore: You would have to pull into the space a maximum of 880 times. This process would take 6,160 seconds (102 minutes 40 seconds).
The bonus question can be answered regardless of how many times you had to pull in. The minimum you would have to drive to roll over to 100,001 miles is 5274 feet (5268 feet if Assertion 1 is incorrect), which is true if the car rolled over as you began pulling forward on the last iteration. You would already be 6 feet into that last mile when you parked. The maximum case would be 5280 feet in the case where the odometer rolled over exactly as you parked.
I <3 word problems! :)
Oh...and if my assertions are correct, then your actual travel distance would be 2 miles (1 mile backward, 1 mile forward) in 1.71 hours, giving you an average speed of 1.17 miles per hour.
remember when both our cars had 85k miles at the same time? mine's got over 120k now, what took you so long?
I like Laura's answer best. My car has 92,500 something on it today. How's that for 8+ years?
I bought my truck in 2002 with 33,000 miles on it. It now has 197,000 miles on it.
How 'bout them apples!
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