Equation: -x2 + 6x – 8

Business: Pencil Makers

How to Solve by Factoring:
Step 1 Divide both sides by -1 to make the
-x2. Coefficient positive: x + 6x + 8 = 0
Step 2 Now I need to factor the equation. I
need to find two numbers that multiply to 8
and add to -6. Those two numbers are -4 and
-2: -4 ∙ -2 = 8 and -4 + -2 = -6
Step 3 Now I can use the zero product
property to solve the equation:
(x – 4) (x – 2) = 0
x – 4 = 0 and x – 2 = 0
x = 4 and x = 2 (This means that my business breaks even at the end of the second and fourth
years)
Finding the Vertex: -x2 + 6x – 8
Step 1 The x-coordinate of the vertex is (-b/2a) thus (-6/2(-1)) = 1. To find the y-coordinate I
would substitute 3 in for x in my quadratic equation.
Step 2 (-3)2 + 6(3) – 8 =1. The coordinate of my vertex is 3,1.
Since my parabola opens downward this means that my business was most profitable halfway
through its third year when it was earning 1 Billion dollars.
Explanation of the Graph:
Everyone told me that I was crazy trying to sell pencils from the Hong Kong to the United
States. “All the Hong Kongians already have pencils” they said. However, even though we did
not need pencils in Hong Kong, they were much needed in the US. That is when we decided to
launch our pencil company worldwide. We started to make lots of money because of all the
orders that were flying in and that is when are company really started. In the year of 1822 came
the making of mechanical pencils by Sampson Mordan and Gabriel Riddle. My business was
breaking even by the end of the second year raking in a profitable 1 Million dollars. But the real
profit began halfway through the third year when we were averaging a whopping 1 Billion
dollars. Then we started to break even again at the end of the fourth year. After the fourth year
are business was really starting to go down hill with the rise of mechanical pencils. After the
fourth year, I was barely breaking even by the end of the fifth year. If things do not sky rocket,
then we will go out of business soon!