Question

The quadratic formula and the discriminat.

The daily production of a company is modeled by the function
p=-w^2 + 75w - 1200. The daily production, p, is dependent on the number of workers w, present. If the break-even point is when p=0, what are the least and greatest number of workers the company must have present each day in order to break even?

I used the quadratic formula and my answers are: 23.14 and 51.86. Did I work it correctly and if not, please explain to me how to solve. Thanks.

Answer 1

w^2 + 75w - 1200 = 0

I could not find the answer. It needs to be factors of 1200. Since the third term is negative, one needs to be negative and the other positive to add to 75. For example, 100 and -12, but that sums to 88. I could use 80 and -15, but that gives me 65. Do you have a typo?

Answer 2

The equation is:

-w^2 +75w - 1200

the neg sign was so close to the = sign above. Sorry about that.

Answer 3

Jane, just switch all the signs, (multiply each term by -1)
There is no need for a quadratic to ever start with a negative
w^2 - 75w + 1200 = 0

both of your answers are correct.