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We’re not all car experts and sometimes we want to know some of the simplest information about our car. Do you know your car’s gas mileage? Don’t worry, because many people don’t either.

It can be pretty helpful to know your car’s gas mileage. The math to figuring this out is easy. Here are the steps you can take to figure out your car’s gas mileage.

Leave a cheap pad of paper or a notebook in your car. Something small that you can easily place in your car’s glove box will work. You’ll want something with lines so you’re able to have a space between each row for your math figures.

It’s recommended to use the same gas station. If it’s possible, keep going to the same gas pump. This might be tricky, but you’ll get better and more reliable results when you’re constantly using the same pump. If needed, write down the name of the gas station and the pump number you’re planning on using.

Before filling up your tank, make sure your odometer is set to zero. You should see a tiny button right underneath it. This will reset your odometer.

When filling the tank, make sure you have the lever that will automatically stop filling your car once it’s full. Since this is the first time you’re keeping track, there is no need to note the number of gallons you just purchased.

Once it’s time to fill up your tank again, pull out the notebook and write the number that is on your odometer into the notebook. Fill your tank as usual and note how many gallons were needed to fill up your tank.

Now is the time to do a little math. Take the number on your odometer and divide that number by the amount of gallons that you put into your car. This number is your miles per gallon. For instance if you drove 150 miles and purchased 12 gallons, divide 150 by 12 and you get 12.5. This means that your car gets 12.5 miles per gallon.