Question

The owner of an orange grove estimates that if 24 trees are planted per acre, then each mature tree will yield 600 oranges per year. For each additional tree planted per acre, the number of oranges produced by each tree decreases by 12 per year. How many trees should be planted per acre to obtain the most oranges per year

Answer 1

Answer:

16428 oranges

Explanation:

Total yield = number of trees × number of oranges in each tree

Initial yield = 600×24= 14400 oranges

To find the equation needed, let x = additional trees and y= total yield

Number of trees = 24 +x

Number of oranges in each tree = 600-12x

Equation of total yield y= (24+x)(600-12x)

y= 14400-288x+600x-12x²

y= -12x²+312x+14400

Using a graphing calculator, from the graph drawn for this quadratic equation, we notice that it is a parabola. Therefore to find the maximum value, we should find the maximum point which is at the vertex of the parabola, we use the formula x= -b/2a

A quadratic equation is such: ax²+bx+c

Therefore x =-312/2×-12

x= -312/-24

x= 13

So we can conclude that in order to maximise oranges from the trees, the person needs to plant an additional 13 trees. Substituting from the above:

24+x=24+13= 37 trees in total

y= -12x²+312x+14400= -12×13²+312×13+14400= -2028+4056+14400

=16428 oranges in total yield