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The total cost of producing a type of car is given by C(x)=21000−90x+0.1x2, where x is the number of cars produced. How many cars should be produced to incur minimum cost? Please explain how you got the answer, THANKS!

User Paul Hazen
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Answer: To find the number of cars that should be produced to incur minimum cost, we need to find the minimum value of the cost function C(x). Since C(x) is a quadratic function, it will have a minimum value, which is either a relative minimum or an absolute minimum. To find the number of cars that should be produced to incur the minimum cost, we will find the derivative of C(x) and set it equal to zero.

To find the derivative of C(x), we can use the power rule, which states that the derivative of x^n is n*x^(n-1).

The derivative of C(x) = 21000 - 90x + 0.1x^2 is

C'(x) = -90 + 0.2x

To find the minimum cost, we set C'(x) equal to zero and solve for x:

-90 + 0.2x = 0

0.2x = 90

x = 450

So, producing 450 cars will incur the minimum cost.

To verify that this is indeed a minimum, we can find the second derivative of C(x) which is 0.2, since the second derivative is positive, we can confirm that x = 450 is a relative minimum.

Alternatively, we can substitute x = 450 into the cost function and find the minimum value, which is C(450) = 21000 - 90(450) + 0.1(450)^2, which is less than any other value of C(x) for x≠450.

Therefore, to incur the minimum cost, 450 cars should be produced.

Explanation:

User Scott Fines
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