How Do You Calculate Profit from Selling Oranges by the Box?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a word problem involving the calculation of profit from selling oranges by the box. Participants explore cost and profit functions, the relationship between selling price and quantity sold, and the implications of these calculations. The scope includes mathematical reasoning and conceptual clarification related to profit modeling.

Discussion Character

  • Homework-related
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant proposes the cost function as C(N) = ($16.00 N) + $300, seeking validation of this formula.
  • Another participant confirms the cost function but suggests removing dollar signs for clarity, presenting it as C(n) = 16n + 300.
  • There is a discussion on how to derive the profit function P(p), with one participant expressing uncertainty about its formulation and suggesting P(n) = pn - 16n - 300.
  • Participants discuss the nature of the profit function, noting that if the power is 1, it is linear, but there is uncertainty about the maximum profit, with one participant suggesting it could be positive infinity or undetermined.
  • One participant questions the lack of a relationship between the number of boxes sold (n) and the selling price (p), indicating a potential gap in the problem-solving approach.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the formulation of the cost function but express differing views on the profit function and the relationship between price and sales. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the maximum profit and the exact formulation of the profit function.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted lack of clarity on how to express the cost function in terms of the selling price, as well as uncertainty regarding the relationship between price and quantity sold, which affects the profit calculations.

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Need help with the following word problem:

You are going to sell oranges by the box full. The first supplier will sell you a box of 20 oranges for \$16 a package, but there is an additional charge of \$300.00 per month to purchase oranges from the company.

1. Find and show you how you found the formula for C(N), which is what it costs your group for oranges, in which n is the # of boxes of oranges.

For this problem, I came up with the formula: C(N) = (\$16.00 N)+ \$300 Am I on the right track?

2. Determine P(p), which models your profit if you buy your oranges from this company. Do not forget to rewrite your cost function in terms of your selling price, p.3. What kind of function is P. 4. When you charge this price, how many boxes are sold?5. Find the maximum profit.I need the solutions and steps to derive the solutions to these five questions.
I sort of know how to get the answers, but I just want to make sure my conclusions are valid. All help is appreciated.
 
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First, I wanted to let you know that the dollar sign is a tag for $$\LaTeX$$, so you need to precede them with a backslash so that they display as simply dollar signs.

1.) Yes you are on the right track, however, I would simply state that the cost is in dollars, so that you can drop the dollar signs from the function definition:

$$C(n)=16n+300$$

The problem asks you to state how you came to this conclusion...can you state why this function works?

2.) Profit is revenue minus costs. Assume you sell all of the boxes you buy. What will the revenue be?
 
MarkFL said:
First, I wanted to let you know that the dollar sign is a tag for $$\LaTeX$$, so you need to precede them with a backslash so that they display as simply dollar signs.

1.) Yes you are on the right track, however, I would simply state that the cost is in dollars, so that you can drop the dollar signs from the function definition:

$$C(n)=16n+300$$

The problem asks you to state how you came to this conclusion...can you state why this function works?

2.) Profit is revenue minus costs. Assume you sell all of the boxes you buy. What will the revenue be?

Thanks for the hint on problem 2. So would P(p) be:

P(n) = pn - 16n - 300 =-(p16)n - 300I know the function type is based on the power. If the power is 1, then the function is linear. Since the power is 1, the function is linear.For last question, I concluded that the max is positive infinity because there is no limit to how many oranges you can sell. But I also think it could be undetermined because we don't know what the maximum is. I'm not sure what to say, positive infinity or cannot be determined.

I could not find an answer to question 4. Price certainly does correlate with sales. However, determining a solid and exact price is impossible.
 
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Have you left out a relationship between $n$ and $p$? The instructions say to write the cost function in terms of $p$ for part 2, but without some relationship between the two variables, I don't see how this can be done.
 

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