Question

12 Bernadette has recently opened her own soup store. It costs her $360 a month plus $2.50 for each bowl of soup she makes. Bernadette brings in $5.50 on each bowl of soup she sells. How many bowls of soup would Bernadette need to sell to make money each month? Explain.

Answer 1

So, to make money each month, Bernadette would need to sell at least 121 bowls of soup.

Explanation:

Cost function:

Has a fixed cost($360), and a variable cost($2.5 per bowl). So the cost of each making b bowls is given by:

C(b) = 360 + 2.5b

Profit function:

She earns $5.5 for each bowl of soup she sells. So the earnings of selling b bowls are given by:

P(b) = 5.5b

How many bowls of soup would Bernadette need to sell to make money each month?

Bernadette will make money if the profit is higher than the cost, that is:

P(b) > C(b)

Then

5.5b > 360 + 2.5b

5.5b - 2.5b > 360

3b > 360

b > 360/3

b > 120

So, to make money each month, Bernadette would need to sell at least 121 bowls of soup.