Answer :
Given,
The number of miles covered by the car in one gallon is 15 miles.
The cost of one gallon of gas is $3.17.
The distance of vacation place place is 290 miles away.
The total distance has to cover in round trip is,
[tex]\text{Total distance covered = 290+290=580 miles}[/tex]The quantity of gas required to cover 580 miles of distance.
[tex]\text{quantity of required gas=}\frac{580}{15}=38.67\text{ gallons}[/tex]The cost required for gas is ,
[tex]\text{Cost of gas =38.67}\times3.17=122.573333[/tex]Hence, $122.57 (approximately) money will Thomas have to budget for the gas used on this round trip.