A small business invests 33,000 in equipment to produce a product. Each unit of the product costs $1.70 to produce and is sold for $5.00. How many items must be sold before the business breaks even?

Answer 1

number of units sold --- x

profit = 5x - 1.7x = 3.3x

3.3x = 33000
x = 33000/3.3 = 10000

Answer 2

cost = 33,000 + 1.70 n

revenue = 5 n

profit = 5 n - (33,000+1.7n)
so for zero profit
33,000 + 1.7 n = 5 n

33,000 = 3.3 n

n = 10,000