Problema Solution
You want to sell 1 pound jars of mixed peanuts and cashews for $5. You pay $3 per pound for peanuts and $6 per pound for cashews. You plan to combine four parts peanuts and one part cashews to make your mix. You have spent $70 on materials to help you get started. How many jars must you sell to break even?
Answer provided by our tutors
First lets found the cost of 1 pound jar
Since you plan to combine four parts peanuts and one part cashews to make your mix we have therefor
p = 4c
p + c = 1
where p and c are the weight of the peanuts and cashews in 1 pound jar
by solving the above system we find that in 1 lbs jar there are p = 4/5 lbs peanuts, c = 1/5 lbs cashews
The cost for one jar of the mix is
(4/5)*3 + (1/5)*6 = 18/5 = $3.60 per jar
If the jar is sold for $5 the profit is 5.00-3.60=$1.40 per jar
let 'n' be the number of jars we need to sell to break even that is the profit = loss
1.40*n=70
n=70/1.40
n = 50 jars
We need to sell 50 jars to break even.