Question

A vehicle factory manufactures cars. The unit cost C (the cost in dollars to make each car) depends on the number of cars made. If x cars are made, then the unit cost is given by the function C (x) = 0.5x^2-130x+17,555. What is the minimum unit cost?

Answer 1

The minimum unit cost to manufacture a car for the given quadratic cost function C(x) = 0.5x^2 - 130x + 17,555 is found by using the vertex formula. The x-coordinate of the vertex is -(-130)/(2*0.5) = 130, which yields the minimum unit cost of $9,105 when substituted back into the function.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the minimum unit cost for manufacturing cars in the given scenario, we need to analyze the cost function C(x) = 0.5x2 - 130x + 17,555. This is a quadratic function, which is parabolic in shape, generally either opening upwards or downwards. In this case, we have a positive coefficient for the x2 term, which means the parabola opens upwards and the vertex of this parabola will give us the minimum point or the minimum cost for producing cars.

The vertex of a quadratic function expressed in the form ax2 + bx + c can be found using the formula -b/(2a) for the x-coordinate of the vertex. In this case, a = 0.5, b = -130, so the x-coordinate of the vertex is -(-130)/(2*0.5) = 130. Plugging this value into the original function will give us the minimum unit cost C(130).

The calculation is as follows:

C(130) = 0.5 * (130)2 - 130 * (130) + 17,555

C(130) = 0.5 * 16,900 - 16,900 + 17,555

C(130) = 8,450 - 16,900 + 17,555

C(130) = 9,105

Therefore, the minimum unit cost to manufacture a car in this scenario is $9,105.