Question

A certain company manufactures skateboards and rollerskates. It takes them 2 units of labor and 1 unit of materials to produce a skateboard, and 1 unit of labor and 2 units of materials to produce a pair of rollerskates. They have 30 units of labor and 40 units of materials each week. If the company makes a profit of $20 on each skateboard and $15 on each pair of rollerskates, what is the number of skateboards the company should produce in order to maximize profit? Round your answer to the nearest whole number.

Answer 1

Answer: The company should produce 7 skateboards and 16 rollerskates in order to maximize profit.

Step-by-step explanation: Let the skateboards be represented by s and the rollerskates be represented by r. The available amount of labour is 30 units, and to produce a skateboard requires 2 units of labor while to produce a rollerskate requires 1 unit. This can be expressed as follows;

2s + r = 30 ------(1)

Also there are 40 units of materials available, and to produce a skateboard requires 1 unit while a rollerskate requires 2 units. This too can be expressed as follows;

s + 2r = 40 ------(2)

With the pair of simultaneous equations we can now solve for both variables by using the substitution method as follows;

In equation (1), let r = 30 - 2s

Substitute for r into equation (2)

s + 2(30 - 2s) = 40

s + 60 - 4s = 40

Collect like terms,

s - 4s = 40 - 60

-3s = -20

Divide both sides of the equation by -3

s = 6.67

(Rounded up to the nearest whole number, s = 7)

Substitute for the value of s into equation (1)

2s + r = 30

2(7) + r = 30

14 + r = 30

Subtract 14 from both sides of the equation

r = 16

Therefore in order to maximize profit, the company should produce 7 skateboards and 16 rollerskates.