Answer:
Part A
The x-intercepts are when f(x) = 0.
Since x represents the price of pens, and f(x) represents the company's profit, the x-intercepts give the price of the pens when the profit is zero.
⇒ the profit is zero when the price of pens are $0 and $6
The maximum value of the graph (vertex) represents the cost of pens when the profit is at its highest. Therefore, the optimal amount to price the pens to get the maximum profit.
⇒ maximum profit of $120 occurs when the pens are priced at $3
Part B
[tex]\sf average \ rate \ of \ change=\dfrac{change \ in \ y}{change \ in \ x}[/tex]
From inspection of the graph, f(3) = 120 and f(5) ≈ 60
[tex]\sf \implies average \ rate \ of \ change=\dfrac{60-120}{5-3}=-30[/tex]
This means that as the price of the pens increases by $1 (between $3 and $5), the average profit decreases by approximately $30.
Part C
The domain is the set of input values (x-values). As the price of a pen cannot be less than zero, the domain will be x ≥ 0
Unless the company is happy to make a loss, the restricted domain should be 0 ≤ x ≤ 6