To find the total number of brown and black bears, we simply add the polynomials for black bears and brown bears together.
(2.3x^2 - 5.6x + 2.3) + (2.4x^2 + 7.2x + 0.97)
= 2.3x^2 - 5.6x + 2.3 + 2.4x^2 + 7.2x + 0.97
= (2.3 + 2.4)x^2 + (-5.6 + 7.2)x + (2.3 + 0.97)
= 4.7x^2 + 1.6x + 3.27
Therefore, the polynomial that models the total number of brown and black bears is:
4.7x^2 + 1.6x + 3.27
A biologist studied the populations of black bears and brown bears over a 10-year period. The biologist modeled the populations, in thousands, with the following polynomials where x is time, in years.
black bears: 2.3x^2 – 5.6x + 2.3
brown bears: 2.4x^2 + 7.2x + 0.97
What polynomial models the total number of brown and black bears?
1 answer