Exercises 3B

3B.1 a) Find the equation of the line passing through the points (4, 6) and (6, -3).

The slope is (6-(-3))/(4-6) = (9)/(-2)

y = -9/2x +b

6 = -9/2(4) +b

6 = -18 + b

b = 24

So y = (-9/2)x + 24

b) Find the equation of slope 2 that passes through the point (-3, 7)

y = 2x + b

7 = 2(-3) + b

7 = -6 + b

b = 13

So y = 2x +13

3B.2 A gas station sells 1200 gallons of gasoline per hour if it charges $2.25 per gallon but
only 1000 gallons per hour if it charges $2.30 per gallon. Assuming a linear model

a) How many gallons would be sold per hour if the gasoline price is $2.40 per gallon?

The independent variable is the price. The dependent variable is the amount sold. So we
are given the two points (225, 1200) and (230, 1000). (We have converted the price has
been converted to cents to avoid decimals.) The slope is therefore (1200-1000)/(225-230)
= 200/(-5) or -40. This says that 40 fewer gallons are sold each hour for every cent the
price is increased.
 Increasing the price to 240 per gallon represents another 10 cent increase on the 230 cent
price. The model says that (40)(10) = 400 fewer gallons will be sold. That is 1000-
400=600 gallons will be sold per hour at this price.

b) What must the gasoline price be in order to sell 1500 gallons per hour?

We know that 225 cents per gallons corresponds to sales of 1200 gallons per hour and
that each cent increase in price leads to 40 gallons less being sold. The questions asks for
1500 gallons which is 300 more than the 1200 given. Dividing 300 by 40 gives 7.5. So a
price drop of 7.5 cents to 225-7.5 = 217.5 cents per gallon will give the 1500 gallons
required.

c) Compute the revenue taken at the four prices mentioned in this problem – $2.25,
$2.30, $2.40 and your answer to part b). Which price gives the most revenue? Is this the
price that the gas station should charge?

Price Sales Revenue

2.175 1500 2.175 * 1500 = $3262.50
2.25 1200 2.25* 1200 = $2700
2.30 1000 2.30 * 1000 = $2300
2.40 600 2.40 * 600 =$1440

Selling gasoline at $2.175 per gallon brings in the highest revenue on gasoline sales. The
low price will also attract more customers to the site and should also increase revenue
from sales in the mini-mart, gift shop etc.

3B.3 A motorist leaves Flagstaff at 7:30 am, drives the 211 miles to Needles, takes a 1-hour
break and then drives a further 264 miles to Los Angeles, arriving at 4:50 pm.

a) Assuming the motorist drives at a constant speed throughout the journey, at what
speed does he/she travel?

The motorist drives 475 miles in 8 hours 20 minutes (driving time) or 25/3 hours
So the average speed is 475/(25/3) = 57 mph

b) If the motorist had gone 5 miles per hour faster, at what time would he/she arrive?

At 62 mph, the journey would take 475/62 = 7.66 hours, about 40 minutes less. The
motorist would arrive at 4:10

c) If the motorist had gone 10 miles per hour faster, at what time would he/she arrive?

At 67 mph, the journey would take 475/67 = 7.09 hours, about 75 minutes less. The
motorist would arrive at 3:35
 d) Graph the function that shows distance from Flagstaff plotted against time.

The overall shape has a constant slope except for the hour in Needles. Of course, there
should be some slow down / speed up on either side of this.

3B.4 A company has been making held-held game units for many years. The monthly
overhead is $3000 and each hand-held game unit costs $80 in materials and labor to
make. If these items are sold for $100 each

a) How many hand-held game units must be sold to break even?

The per-item profit is $20. Enough need to be sold to cover the initial cost of 3000.
So break even occurs when 3000/20 =150 are sold.

b) What is the profit/loss if 120 hand-held game units are made and sold?

We know from the above that the answer will indicate a loss since the number is below
that needed to break even.

The profit =20*120=2400 on the items sold is offset by the $3000 needed as start up. So
the loss at this point is $600.