What is the maximum profit for the new camera invention?

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A local inventor has developed a new camera technology that uses special tubes to
improve the quality of the pictures it takes. To produce, each camera will cost
$1,000 of fixed costs, $25 for every tube used, and $400 divided by the number of
tubes used in each camera. The camera sells for $2,025.


a) Write the function P(x) for the profit on a camera, where x represents the number
of tubes used in each camera.
b) What obvious restriction must be placed on x?
c) Use the function in a) to determine the number of tubes that will maximize profit.
d) Show that P(x) is maximized at the stationery point.



Attempted Solution

a) P(x) = 1025 - 25x - 400/x

b) x > 0

c) i managed to get x = +/- 4 . Therefore 10 tubes would maximize profit .

d) *confused on this one
 
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jcrane said:
A local inventor has developed a new camera technology that uses special tubes to
improve the quality of the pictures it takes. To produce, each camera will cost
$1,000 of fixed costs, $25 for every tube used, and $400 divided by the number of
tubes used in each camera. The camera sells for $2,025.


a) Write the function P(x) for the profit on a camera, where x represents the number
of tubes used in each camera.
b) What obvious restriction must be placed on x?
c) Use the function in a) to determine the number of tubes that will maximize profit.
d) Show that P(x) is maximized at the stationery point.



Attempted Solution

a) P(x) = 1025 - 25x - 400/x

b) x > 0

c) i managed to get x = +/- 4 . Therefore 10 tubes would maximize profit .
Isn't x the number of tubes used to make a camera? You just found that x = 4 (x = -4 is not in the domain.).
jcrane said:
d) *confused on this one
You have a maximum if P'(x) > 0 for x to the left of the stationary point, and P'(x) < 0 for x to the right of the stationary point. (Stationery is paper and envelopes and such.)
 
Sorry, i just copied the question from the assignment website ..
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...

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