Question

A company is selling specialty ice cream. Their profit is modeled by the equation p(x) = x2 + 3, where x represents the number of cartons sold. Their cost to make the carton is represented by c(x) = -3x + 24, where x represents the number of cartons produced.

A. What does it mean to find the solution to this system?

B. What is the solution to the system? How did you find the solution?

C. What does the solution mean in context of the problem?

D. How do you solve this system when x does not stand for the same thing? What system are you referring to?

Answer 1

The given function for the profit of the company is p(x) = x² + 3

The function for the cos of the company, c(x) = -3·x + 24

Where;

x = The number of cartons sold

A. To find the solution of the system means to find the number of cartons sold at which the profit and cost are equal

B. The solution of the system can be found by equating both functions as follows;

p(x) = c(x)

Therefore;

x² + 3 = -3·x + 24

∴ x² + 3 + 3·x - 24 = 0

x² + 3·x - 21 = 0

x = (-3 ± √(3² - 4×1×(-21)))/(2 × 1)

∴ x = (-3 ± √(93))/2

x = (-3 + √(93))/2 ≈ 3.32 or x = (-3 - √(93))/2 ≈ -6.32

Therefore, the possible solution is x = (-3 + √(93))/2 ≈ 3.32

C. The solution means that when the company sells about 3 cartons of specialty ice, the cost to make the carton and the profit from selling the cartons will be approximately equal

D. Part 1

To solve the system, we rewrite the functions using common variables, to obtain a consistent system of equations

Part 2 Inconsistent system of equations

When x does not stand for the same thing in both equations, we have an inconsistent system of equations and there are no solutions

Explanation: