{"id":161,"date":"2023-06-21T13:22:39","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T13:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/gsu-collegealgebra\/chapter\/why-it-matters-linear-and-absolute-value-functions\/"},"modified":"2024-01-09T16:43:13","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T16:43:13","slug":"why-it-matters-linear-and-absolute-value-functions","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/gsu-collegealgebra\/chapter\/why-it-matters-linear-and-absolute-value-functions\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 3A. Linear Functions","rendered":"Chapter 3A. Linear Functions"},"content":{"raw":"

\"A<\/h2>\r\n

Why Use Linear Functions?<\/h2>\r\nYou have a great idea for a small business. You and a friend have developed a battery-powered bike. It\u2019s perfect for getting around a college campus or even local stops in town. You enjoy making the bikes, but would it be a worthwhile business\u2014one from which you can earn a profit?\r\n\r\nThe profit your business can earn depends on two main factors. First, it depends on how much it costs you to make the bikes. These costs include the parts you buy to make each bike as well as any rent and utilities you pay for the location where you make the bikes. It also includes any salaries you pay people to help you.\r\n\r\nSecond, profit depends on revenue, which is the amount of money you take in by selling the bikes.\r\n

Profit = Revenue \u2013 Costs<\/p>\r\nBoth revenue and costs are linear functions. They depend on the number of bikes you sell. You can then rewrite the profit equation as a function:\r\n

[latex]P\\left(x\\right)=R\\left(x\\right)-C\\left(x\\right)[\/latex]<\/p>\r\nwhere [latex]P(x)[\/latex] is profit, [latex]R(x)[\/latex] is revenue, [latex]C(x)[\/latex] is cost and [latex]x[\/latex] is equal to the number of bikes produced and sold.\r\n\r\nYou and your business partner determine that your fixed costs, those you can\u2019t change such as the room you rent for the business, are $1,600, and your variable costs, those associated with each bike, are $200. If you sell each bike for $600, the table shows your profits for different numbers of bikes.\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Number of bikes<\/td>\r\nProfit ($)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
2<\/td>\r\n\u2013800<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
5<\/td>\r\n400<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
10<\/td>\r\n2,400<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\nAs seen in the table above, if you only sell 2 bikes, you actually lose money. However, if you sell 5 or more bikes, you earn a profit.\r\n