Math Problem Statement

Your monthly profit (in dollars) from your newspaper route is given by

P = 8n − <square root>n,

where n is the number of subscribers on your route. If you currently have 100 subscribers, find your profit and your marginal profit.

profit$ marginal profit$  per new subscriber

Interpret your answers.

Your current profit is $  per month and this would increase at a rate of $  per new subscriber.

Solution

The profit function is given by:

P(n)=8nnP(n) = 8n - \sqrt{n}

where nn is the number of subscribers. You're asked to find:

  1. The current profit when n=100n = 100 subscribers.
  2. The marginal profit, which is the derivative of the profit function P(n)P(n) with respect to nn, evaluated at n=100n = 100.

Step 1: Calculate the profit at n=100n = 100

We substitute n=100n = 100 into the profit function:

P(100)=8(100)100=80010=790P(100) = 8(100) - \sqrt{100} = 800 - 10 = 790

So, your current profit is $790 per month.

Step 2: Find the marginal profit

To find the marginal profit, we first take the derivative of the profit function P(n)P(n):

P(n)=ddn(8nn)=812nP'(n) = \frac{d}{dn}(8n - \sqrt{n}) = 8 - \frac{1}{2\sqrt{n}}

Now, evaluate this derivative at n=100n = 100:

P(100)=812100=8120=80.05=7.95P'(100) = 8 - \frac{1}{2\sqrt{100}} = 8 - \frac{1}{20} = 8 - 0.05 = 7.95

Thus, the marginal profit is $7.95 per new subscriber.

Interpretation

Your current profit is $790 per month, and for each additional subscriber, your profit will increase by approximately $7.95. This means that adding new subscribers has a slightly diminishing impact on profit growth due to the square root term.


Do you need further details or have any questions?
Here are some related questions to explore further:

  1. What happens to the profit as the number of subscribers grows larger?
  2. How does the marginal profit behave as the number of subscribers increases?
  3. Can the marginal profit ever be negative?
  4. What is the maximum possible profit you can achieve with this model?
  5. How would the profit change if the equation included a fixed cost per subscriber?

Tip: The marginal profit helps determine how efficiently you're increasing your earnings with each new subscriber!

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Algebra
Derivatives
Profit Maximization
Marginal Analysis

Formulas

Profit function: P(n) = 8n - √n
Marginal profit (derivative): P'(n) = 8 - 1/(2√n)

Theorems

Derivative Rules

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 10-12 (Calculus Introduction)