Math Problem Statement

A technical support contracting firm hires people to work from home using their proprietary support scripting system. The company currently has 3000 employees and wants to increase their revenue from $2,700,000 to $4,860,000. How many new employees should be hired?

Solution

Let's break this down and solve the problem step by step.

Given Information:

  1. The relationship between revenue RR (in thousands of USD) and the number of employees xx (in hundreds) is given by: R2=270x3R^2 = 270x^3
  2. The company currently has 3000 employees, which means x=30x = 30 (since xx is the number of employees in hundreds).
  3. The current revenue is $2,700,000, which means R=2700R = 2700 (since RR is in thousands).
  4. The target revenue is $4,860,000, which means R=4860R = 4860.

We need to find how many new employees should be hired, i.e., find the new value of xx.

Step 1: Solve for xx at the current revenue.

From the equation: R2=270x3R^2 = 270x^3 Substitute R=2700R = 2700 and solve for xx: (2700)2=270x3(2700)^2 = 270x^3 7290000=270x37290000 = 270x^3 x3=7290000270=27000x^3 = \frac{7290000}{270} = 27000 x=270003=30x = \sqrt[3]{27000} = 30 This confirms that with 3000 employees (i.e., x=30x = 30), the revenue is indeed $2,700,000.

Step 2: Solve for xx at the target revenue.

Now, substitute R=4860R = 4860 and solve for xx: (4860)2=270x3(4860)^2 = 270x^3 23619600=270x323619600 = 270x^3 x3=23619600270=87480x^3 = \frac{23619600}{270} = 87480 x=87480344.59x = \sqrt[3]{87480} \approx 44.59

Step 3: Determine how many employees to hire.

The company needs x=44.59x = 44.59, which corresponds to approximately 4459 employees. Currently, they have 3000 employees, so the number of new employees to hire is: 44593000=14594459 - 3000 = 1459

Thus, the company should hire 1459 new employees to reach their target revenue.

Would you like further clarification or a deeper breakdown of any step?


Here are five related questions for further practice:

  1. What if the target revenue was $6,000,000? How many new employees would be needed?
  2. If the revenue-to-employees relationship changes to R2=350x3R^2 = 350x^3, how does this affect the number of employees needed for the same revenue?
  3. How many employees would the company need if they wanted to double their current revenue?
  4. What would the revenue be if the company hired an additional 2000 employees?
  5. How would the equation change if the revenue grows at a rate proportional to x4x^4 instead of x3x^3?

Tip: When dealing with related rates or proportional growth problems, always check if the units are consistent to avoid errors in calculations.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Related Rates
Cubic Functions
Algebra

Formulas

R^2 = 270x^3
Revenue in thousands (R)
Employees in hundreds (x)

Theorems

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Suitable Grade Level

Grade 11-12