1.

Determine whether the lines given by the equations below are parallel, perpendicular, or

neither. Also, find a rigorous algebraic solution for each problem.

a. b. c.

a. The first set of equations are parallel. We can see this with the equation using the slope

intercept formula, y=mx+b , and the graph below:

3 y +4 x =12 −6 y=8 x +1

8 x +1
3 y=−4 x +12 y=
−6

−4 x+ 12 8x 1
y= y= +
3 −6 −6

−4 x 12 −4 1
y= + y= x+
3 3 6 6

−4
y= x+4
3

−4
This shows that both equations have the same slope of m= x and therefore are parallel.
3
b. Using the same formula, y=mx+b , let’s get the slope of these two equations.

3 y + x=12 − y=8 x +1

3 y=−x +12 y= ( 8 x +1 ) (−1 )

−x +12
y= y=−8 x±1
3

−x 12
y= +
3 3

−1
y= x+4
3

−1
The slopes of the two equations are x and −8 x . They are not the same and not the negative
3

reciprocal of each other. This means that these equations are neither parallel nor

perpendicular to each other.

c. Now let’s try the third set of equations using the slope intercept formula and the graph.

4 x−7 y=10 7 x +4 y =1

−7 y=−4 x +10 4 y=−7 x +1

−4 x+ 10 −7 x +1
y= y=
−7 4

−4 x 10 −7 x 1
y= + y= +
−7 −7 4 4

4 10 −7 1
y= x± y= x+
7 7 4 4
 4 −7
The slopes for these equations are x and x , which are the negative reciprocal of each other.
7 4

We may also multiply them, and we will get the product of −1 proving that they are

perpendicular.

2. A ball is thrown in the air from the top of a building. Its height, in meters above ground, as a

function of time, in seconds, is given by h ( t )=−4.9t 2 +24 t+ 8. What is the height of the

building? What is the maximum height reached by the ball? How long does it take to reach

maximum height? Also, find a rigorous algebraic solution for the problem.

The height of the building is given as t=0 .

h ( 0 ) =−4.9 ( 0 )2 +24 ( 0 ) +8
 h ( 0 ) =8

The building is 8 meters high.

Differentiate the given equation with respect to time t .

d d
h ( t ) = ( −4.9 t +24 t+8 )
2
dt dt

d
'
h (t)= ( −4.92 t 2 ) + d ( 24 t ) + d ( 8 )
dt dt dt

d 2
¿−4.9 ( t ) +24 d ( t ) +0
dt dt

¿−4.9 ( 2 t ) +24 (1 )

¿−9.8 t+24

Equate to zero the first derivative that we obtained:

−9.8 t +24=0

−9.8 t =0−24

−24
t=
−9.8

t=2.448979591836735 t=2.45 seconds

To determine the maximum height that the ball will reach, we will use t=2.45 in a function.

2
h ( 2.45 )=−4.9 ( 2.45 ) +24 ( 2.45 ) +8

¿−29.41225+58.8+8

¿ 37.38775 maxheight =37.39 m

To summarize, the height of the building is 8m. The maximum height that the ball will reach is

37.39m. It will take 2.45 seconds for the ball to reach the maximum height.

3. In a market, there are 100 shops, and a shop’s average per day income is $200. If one more

shop is added to the market, the average income per shop reduces by $5 due to price competition.

Conversely, the decrease of one shop can increase the average income per shop by $5 due to

cartelization among the shopkeepers. Please suggest the optimal number of shops to the city’s

revenue department from a total income (revenue) point of view of the market?

Having 100 shops in the market gives them an average of $200 daily income.

shop100 ¿ 100 x 200

¿ 20,000

100 shops produce a total of $20,000 total daily income in the market.

Let’s compare having 1 more shop added, which makes the average income per shop to $195.

shop101 ¿ 101 x 195

¿ 19,695

Having 101 shops in the market yields a total of $19,695 total in daily income for the market.

Finally, let’s try having 99 shops with an average of $205 daily income per shop.

shop99 ¿ 99 x 205

¿ 20,295
This shows that having 99 shops produces a total of $20,295 daily income for the market. Out of

all the three, it is optimal to the city’s revenue to have 99 shops in the market since it gives a

larger amount of daily revenue.

Resources:

[ https://www.desmos.com/calculator ]

Rice University. (n.d.). Algebra and Trigonometry 2e. OpenStax.

https://openstax.org/books/algebra-and-trigonometry-2e/pages/preface