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The manufacturer of color televisions can sell 1900 sets to his dealers at $575 each. If the price is $470, he can sell 2600 sets. The total cost of producing x television sets is C(x)=3300+608x−0.09x^2. Assuming the demand function is linear, find the price per set that will maximize profit. Round your answer to the nearest cent, if necessary.

1 Answer

7 votes

Answer:

$545

Explanation:

Finding the price that maximizes profit requires several steps. We need the demand function that tells quantity sold in terms of selling price. With this, we can express the cost and revenue functions in terms of selling price. The profit will be the difference between revenue and cost.

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demand

The demand (q) is said to be a linear function of price (p). The equation for that can be written ...

q(p) = (q2 -q1)/(p2 -p1)(p -p1) +q1 . . . . . for two points (p1, q1) and (p2, q2)

Using the given demand points, this can be ...

q(p) = (1900 -2600)/(575 -470)(p -470) +2600

q(p) = -20/3(p -470) +2600

q(p) = -20/3p +5733 1/3

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cost

The cost function in terms of selling price can be found by substituting the q(p) equation for x in c(x). For the purpose of finding the maximum profit, we only need the marginal cost function:

c(q(p))' = c'(q(p))·q'(p) = (608 -0.18(q(p)))·(-20/3) = (608 -0.18(-20/3p +5733 1/3))(-20/3)

c'(p) = -8p +2826 2/3

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revenue

As with cost, the function we need for finding the maximum profit is the marginal revenue function. Revenue is the product of price and demand, so the marginal revenue is ...

r(p) = p·q(p)

r'(p) = q(p) +p·q'(p) = (-20/3p +5733 1/3) +p(-20/3)

r'(p) = -40/3p +5733 1/3

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maximum profit

The maximum profit is found where the marginal profit is zero. In turn, that is found where the difference between marginal revenue and marginal cost is zero:

P = R -C

P'(p) = 0 = r'(p) -c'(p) = (-40/3p +5733 1/3) -(-8p +2826 2/3)

0 = -16/3p +2906 2/3

16p = 8720 . . . . . multiply by 3, add 16p

p = 545 . . . . . . . price for maximum profit

The price per set that maximizes profit is $545.00.

The manufacturer of color televisions can sell 1900 sets to his dealers at $575 each-example-1
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