Motive Power Skills at Home

Explore Motive Power and Energy Skills at Home with this Road Trip Activity!

You’re living in Yarmouth attending the Nova Scotia Community College Burridge Campus. You have one week left of summer break and want to plan a visit to Ingonish Beach. You want to make the most out of your time, so want to drive there in the shortest time possible.

Being a student, you also have a limited budget. You’ve budgeted $100 (one way) to refuel. You also have a friend joining you, to switch off driving duties.

You visit a nearby car rental lot and they have 3 options available. Each is the same cost and has similar features, except for their fuel source. Each vehicle has full charge/tank. You must return the vehicle in Ingonish with a full charge/tank.

Plan your route, including required refueling/charging stops. Use the listed resources

to determine the cost to refuel/recharge at each stop.

Plan your route with each vehicle.

Which vehicle do you choose? Why?
Are you able to reach your destination?
What obstacles did you encounter?
How long did the trip take?

Option 1	Option 2	Option 3
Electric	Hybrid	Traditional Fuel
2021 Nissan Leaf	2021 Toyota Prius	2020 Ford Fusion
40kWh battery (range 240 km)	4.4L/100 km	8.7 L/100km
Level 2 charge: 8 hours	43L fuel capacity	62.5 fuel capacity
Quick charge: 60 minutes

Electric Vehicle

Electric vehicles store electricity in an energy storage device, such as a battery. The electricity powers the vehicle’s wheels via an
electric motor. Electric Vehicles energy storage must be replenished by plugging into an electrical source.

Hybrid Vehicle

Hybrid vehicles have a small fuel-efficient gas engine combined with an electric motor that assists the engine when accelerating. The electric motor is powered by batteries that recharge automatically while you drive.

Traditional Fuel Vehicle

Most vehicles on the road today are powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE.) These vehicles use energy-dense fuels such as gasoline or diesel fuel; liquids derived from fossil fuels.

Directions

Step One:

Open Google Maps
Select Directions
Enter your starting point (Yarmouth, NS)
Enter your destination (Ingonish Beach)
Choose Your Route

Step Two:

Based on your vehicle choice, determine how far you can go before refueling/charging.

For Electric Vehicles: use the range identified in the vehicle description.
For Hybrid and Traditional Fuel Consumption Vehicles: determine the Fuel Mileage from the information provided in the vehicle description. Visit CalculateMe.com to assist in calculating the Gas Mileage.

Step Three:

Locate Gas/Charging Stations along your route, within your vehicle’s range.

For Electric Vehicles: Visit https://www.plugshare.com/
For Hybrid and Traditional Fuel Consumption Vehicles: Use Google Maps to locate Gas Stations

Step Four:

Determine the cost and time associated with refueling/charging your vehicle at each location.

For Electric Vehicles: Use https://www.plugshare.com/. Take note of the availability, cost, and times required for L2 (Level 2) and Fast Charging.
For Hybrid and Traditional Fuel Consumption Vehicles: Find current gasoline prices in Nova Scotia by region at: https://nsuarb.novascotia.ca/mandates/gasoline-diesel-pricing/
gasoline-prices-zone-map

Take note that there are price differences by region. Ensure you are choosing the correct region when determining the cost.
Repeat Step Four each time you must stop to refuel/recharge along your route. Don’t forget that you must return your vehicle in Ingonish Beach with a full charge/tank.

Step Five:

Add up the total cost to refuel/recharge for your trip.
Add up the total length of time it took to reach your destination.

For Electric Vehicles: This will be the travel time estimated by Google Maps, along with the time to recharge the vehicle at each stop.
For Hybrid and Traditional Fuel Consumption Vehicles: Add 10 minutes each time you stopped to refuel.