minimum number of...

Thank you Mr Lev. I will if it is not a bother to you all.
I want to learn and I want to be helped. It is not like I don't follow help. Mr pka's words are cruel. It is not like I am not trying. I'm learning a lot here. Thanks to you Mr Khan, Mr Jomo, Mr Jeff MrH and some others that have helped me a lot.
 
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eddy2017 said:
900=15n - (150 + 6n)
900=15n - 150 - 6n grouping like terms
900 + 150 = 15n-6n
1050 = 15n - 6n
1050 = 9n
n= 116
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Hmm, did you check your answer? You have a multiple of 10 as the product, what does it tell you about the 2 factors?
 
lev888 said:
Hmm, did you check your answer? You have a multiple of 10 as the product, what does it tell you about the 2 factors?
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I have never dealt with an excercise like this. I think this is the first time.
 
eddy2017 said:
I have never dealt with an excercise like this. I think this is the first time.
Click to expand...
Well, the exercise is 1050 = 9n, I'm pretty sure solved such equations before.

The solution is a fraction, whereas we are looking for a whole number. But note the question: "What is the minimum number of t-shirts they need to sell in order to make a profit of $900 dollars?" It doesn't say "What's the number of orders to get exactly $900 profit".
With n = 116 you get what? I'm guessing less than $900. So which n gets you over $900? (considering as n increases, profit increases)
 
lev888 said:
Well, the exercise is 1050 = 9n, I'm pretty sure solved such equations before.

The solution is a fraction, whereas we are looking for a whole number. But note the question: "What is the minimum number of t-shirts they need to sell in order to make a profit of $900 dollars?" It doesn't say "What's the number of orders to get exactly $900 profit".
With n = 116 you get what? I'm guessing less than $900. So which n gets you over $900? (considering as n increases, profit increases)
lev888 said:
Well, the exercise is 1050 = 9n, I'm pretty sure solved such equations before.

The solution is a fraction, whereas we are looking for a whole number. But note the question: "What is the minimum number of t-shirts they need to sell in order to make a profit of $900 dollars?" It doesn't say "What's the number of orders to get exactly $900 profit".
With n = 116 you get what? I'm guessing less than $900. So which n gets you over $900? (considering as n increases, profit increases)
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With 116 i get 894, yes, below 900.
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n will have to be 120.
A minimum 120 shirts will have to be sold to have a profit of 900
 
Good morning, Mr lev and pka. I went to sleep.
I finally put the equation together and solved it and the result was not the one we were looking for. That was confusing to me. I think I did all the operations correctly and didn’t get the result that I expected so what to do. In cases like these, if you all have a limit to Q & A in a same thread then is better to go ahead and give the student the right answer. I think so respectfully. I have read the guidelines and it does not say anything about a limit when/ if the student is still thinking, reacting and trying to figure out an answer.
 
eddy2017 said:
Good morning, Mr lev and pka. I went to sleep.
I finally put the equation together and solved it and the result was not the one we were looking for. That was confusing to me. I think I did all the operations correctly and didn’t get the result that I expected so what to do. In cases like these, if you all have a limit to Q & A in a same thread then is better to go ahead and give the student the right answer. I think so respectfully. I have read the guidelines and it does not say anything about a limit when/ if the student is still thinking, reacting and trying to figure out an answer.
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Does a teacher quit on a student that is struggling but trying their hardest?. Don't think so.
 
I do agree that after a while explaining the answer is acceptable.

Lev and Khan agree: first think about what the problem is asking. This often requires asking yourself what non-mathematical information is required to address the problem. Here that required thinking about what the word “profit“ means. If you don’t know, you cannot possibly solve the problem.

Dollars from sales = units sold times price in dollars per unit sold
Dollars in expenses = fixed costs in dollars + units sold times variable costs per unit sold in dollars
Profit = Dollars from sales minus dollars in expenses.

That is not something that you learn in math class. It is general information that you are expected to know outside of math but that is necessary to know in order to solve the math problem. If you don’t know how to calculate profit or loss, you cannot solve the problem. So the thinking, what lev calls top down thinking, may require you to do some research. That is the kind of question we shall gladly answer.

Second step is to identify and label what relevant quantities are unknown. What is unknown here? The minimum number of T shirts to be sold. Assign that number a letter and write down what it means.

[MATH]n = \text {number of T shirts to be sold}.[/MATH]
Third step is to translate the problem into the language of math, which means equations in algebra. How many equations are needed? The same as the number of unknowns. In this problem, the answer is one.

[MATH]900 = 15n - (150 + 6n).[/MATH]
Fourth step is to do the math problem.

[MATH]900 = 15n - (150 + 6n) \implies 1050 = 9n \implies n = \dfrac{1050}{9}.[/MATH]
Fifth step is to check your work. THAT REQUIRES THAT YOU LEAVE YOUR ANSWER IN EXACT FORM FOR NOW. NO APPROXIMATING YET.

[MATH]15 \cdot \dfrac{1050}{9} - 150 - 6 \cdot \dfrac{1050}{9} = \dfrac{15750 - 1350 - 6300}{9} = \dfrac{8100}{9} = 900. \ \checkmark[/MATH]
So the exact answer is 1050/9, which is not a whole number. So that is not a practical answer. Like you, I would say the meaningful answer is 116, but that answer may not satisfy your teacher. So I would write

[MATH]n = \dfrac{1050}{9} \approx 116.[/MATH]
What does that mean?

I keep telling you: every word problem that can be solved by algebra will submit to this five step process

Think
Identify
Translate
Algebra
Check
 
JeffM said:
I do agree that after a while explaining the answer is acceptable.

Lev and Khan agree: first think about what the problem is asking. This often requires asking yourself what non-mathematical information is required to address the problem. Here that required thinking about what the word “profit“ means. If you don’t know, you cannot possibly solve the problem.

Dollars from sales = units sold times price in dollars per unit sold
Dollars in expenses = fixed costs in dollars + units sold times variable costs per unit sold in dollars
Profit = Dollars from sales minus dollars in expenses.

That is not something that you learn in math class. It is general information that you are expected to know outside of math but that is necessary to know in order to solve the math problem. If you don’t know how to calculate profit or loss, you cannot solve the problem. So the thinking, what lev calls top down thinking, may require you to do some research. That is the kind of question we shall gladly answer.

Second step is to identify and label what relevant quantities are unknown. What is unknown here? The minimum number of T shirts to be sold. Assign that number a letter and write down what it means.

[MATH]n = \text {number of T shirts to be sold}.[/MATH]
Third step is to translate the problem into the language of math, which means equations in algebra. How many equations are needed? The same as the number of unknowns. In this problem, the answer is one.

[MATH]900 = 15n - (150 + 6n).[/MATH]
Fourth step is to do the math problem.

[MATH]900 = 15n - (150 + 6n) \implies 1050 = 9n \implies n = \dfrac{1050}{9}.[/MATH]
Fifth step is to check your work. THAT REQUIRES THAT YOU LEAVE YOUR ANSWER IN EXACT FORM FOR NOW. NO APPROXIMATING YET.

[MATH]15 \cdot \dfrac{1050}{9} - 150 - 6 \cdot \dfrac{1050}{9} = \dfrac{15750 - 1350 - 6300}{9} = \dfrac{8100}{9} = 900. \ \checkmark[/MATH]
So the exact answer is 1050/9, which is not a whole number. So that is not a practical answer. Like you, I would say the meaningful answer is 116, but that answer may not satisfy your teacher. So I would write

[MATH]n = \dfrac{1050}{9} \approx 116.[/MATH]
What does that mean?

I keep telling you: every word problem that can be solved by algebra will submit to this five step process

Think
Identify
Translate
Algebra
Check
Click to expand...
Thank you so much to you all!!!.It was a tough nut to crack for me. But thanks to you I could deal with it up to a certain point. Thanks.
 
JeffM said:
[MATH]n = \dfrac{1050}{9} \approx 116.[/MATH]
Click to expand...
Since the problem is asking for a number of orders that would result in $900 in profits and 116 produces $894 in profits, it's not correct. 117 is the correct answer.
 
lev888 said:
Since the problem is asking for a number of orders that would result in $900 in profits and 116 produces $894 in profits, it's not correct. 117 is the correct answer.
Click to expand...
Right you are.
 
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