Questions: C(t)=0.30-0.18[[-(t-1)]]
(a) Use a graphing utility to graph the cost function for 0<t ≤ 5.
(b) Use the graph to complete the table below and observe the behavior of the function as t approaches 3.5 .
t 3 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 4
C(t)
Use the graph and the table to find the following limit.
lim t → 3.5 C(t)
(c) Use the graph to complete the table below and observe the behavior of the function as t approaches 3.
t 2 2.5 2.9 3 3.1 3.5 4
C(t)
Transcript text: C(t)=0.30-0.18[[-(t-1)]]
(a) Use a graphing utility to graph the cost function for $0
Solution
Solution Steps
Step 1: Evaluate C(t) for t values approaching 3.5 from the left.
Reading from the third graph provided, when _t_ = 3, C(t) = 1. When _t_ = 3.3, C(t) is between 0.5 and 1, but appears closer to 0.5 so we estimate C(3.3) = 0.6. When _t_ = 3.4, C(t) seems to be exactly 0.5.
Step 2: Evaluate C(t) for t values approaching 3.5 from the right.
From the graph, when _t_ = 4, C(t) = 0.12. When _t_ = 3.7, C(t) appears to be approximately 0.2. When _t_ = 3.6, C(t) appears to be slightly less than 0.3.
Step 3: Evaluate the limit as t approaches 3.5.
As _t_ approaches 3.5 from the left, C(t) appears to be approaching 0.5. As _t_ approaches 3.5 from the right, C(t) also appears to be approaching 0.5. Therefore, the limit of C(t) as _t_ approaches 3.5 is 0.5.