The Importance of Proper Fueling for Cars and Bodies

Fuel Up the Right Way

After a minor pause, we continue the traffic and navigation series to learn how to move forwards. This week we look at the fuel tank. How does the fuel tank operate for petrol and electric cars? And how does the human fuel tank work? This has important takeaways on why fueling up is so important.
(Featured image by Olivie Zemanova via Unplash.)

The Fuel Tank

Please note: For this post, ‘fuel tank‘ will refer to any category of energy that can be used as fuel to activate the car or person.

What is the Purpose of the Fuel Tank?

In short, the fuel tank is a special storage container for extra energy. Which is used later when a car or body needs to use more energy. Check out this diagram for greater or more complex information, and this resource for a part-by-part summary.

With technological advancements hybrid and electronic vehicles have begun taking the spotlight on the roads. Some governments have taken care of transportation services such as buses, to operate on ‘green energy’ output options. Let’s explore some different vehicles and their fuel types.

Petrol Vehicles

Petrol vehicles are still the most common on the roads. The types of fuel for these vehicles can vary from: Diesel to unleaded, to ethanol, to octane or compressed gas.

Australia and Petrol

In Australia, Unleaded 91 petrol is the most common fuel source. To find out more about the other fuel types in Australia click here.

America and Petrol

In America, there are two primary fuel sources, gasoline and diesel.
Gasoline is a refined fuel sourced from petroleum. Whereas diesel contains a higher energy-source to gasoline. Both a popular choice, if you live in the USA or are planning on travelling and want to know which fuel source is needed, check out this helpful source.

Europe and Petrol

In Europe, for a long time the greatest source of fuel came from petrol or diesel. Much like in America or Australia. However, with the inclusion of electric cars, various types of fuel have come on the market. With statistics finding in 2022 Europe’s use of petrol dropped to 34%. While this percentage still holds as the greatest fuel source, it opens the field to the various types of fuel available for vehicles. For more information on those statistics refer to this link.

Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles more commonly known as EV’s, have hit the market flying. (Not literally, wouldn’t that be something.) EV’s do not require a fuel source in the same way as petrol-based vehicles do. Instead they relying on the battery pack, and are fueled by an electronic charge. Like battery recharging – do you remember when that was a new thing? It is as basic as recharging your phone battery.

For EV’s instead of driving to a petrol station, they can charge up at electric stations. At least to get enough juice to driving home for a greater charge. Don’t be fooled by paying zero towards a petrol-based source, electronic charges still cost!
Fuel-fil your EV curiosities and learn more here.
Or refer to this resource crafted by Nissan to explain EV’s.

Hybrid Vehicles

For a few years now, the market has shown availability for hybrid cars, which use a mix of electric and petrol fuel sourcing. If you are interested in how a hybrid car operates, check out this link.

The Human Body as a Fuel Tank

For us humans fueling up is a bit different. We don’t carry around a special bucket to hold our gasoline. But we do have a great internal bucket called our stomach to breakdown and process the foods we eat.  The human body is a complicated system, using extra buckets for fuel and energy output. This resource is a great source, especially for helping children make connections between cars and their own bodies. And to learn the importance of correct fuel for human bodies!

Fuel Helps Us to Move Forwards

We’ve looked at different types of cars today and discovered many fuel types. Learning how the purpose of fuel and food play a vital role in our energy outputs. Consider these questions throughout the week.

• What are you putting inside your body?
• Is what you put into your body helping you to have great energy?
• What are some ways you could improve your fuel source?