A new company estimates its total profit (profit = total revenue minus total cost) as P (x) = x4 - 2x3 - 240x - 35, where P is in hundreds of dollars and x is the number of months elapsed since the company's start-up. According to the rational zero theorem, what can be the values of x until the company breaks even?

Question

Mia Doyle

Mathematics

10 December, 05:05

A new company estimates its total profit (profit = total revenue minus total cost) as P (x) = x4 - 2x3 - 240x - 35, where P is in hundreds of dollars and x is the number of months elapsed since the company's start-up. According to the rational zero theorem, what can be the values of x until the company breaks even?

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Answers (1)

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Noelle Rivers · Answer 1

You must factor the equation. When you factor the first time you get

(x-7) (x^3+5x^2+35x+5)

Then you solve for each of those equations by setting them to zero

x-7=0 add 7 to both sides and x=7

x^3+5x^2+35x+5=0 solve for x and you get x = - 0.145806

Your answers are x = 7, - 0.145806