Q:

The fish population in a certain part of the ocean (in thousands of fish) as a function of the water's temperature (in degrees celsius) is modeled by: p(x)=-2x^2+40x-72p(x)=−2x 2 +40x−72p, left parenthesis, x, right parenthesis, equals, minus, 2, x, start superscript, 2, end superscript, plus, 40, x, minus, 72 which temperatures will result in no fish (i.e. 000 population)? enter the lower temperature first. lower temperature: degrees celsius higher temperature: degrees celsius

Accepted Solution

A:
For this case we have the following function:
 p (x) = - 2x ^ 2 + 40x-72
 We must equal the function to zero:
 -2x ^ 2 + 40x-72 = 0
 We now look for the roots of the polynomial, for this, we rewrite:
 x ^ 2-20x + 36 = 0
 Factoring we have:
 (x-18) * (x-2) = 0
 The roots are:
 x1 = 2
 x2 = 18
 Answer:
 lower temperature: 2 degrees celsius
 higher temperature: 18 degrees celsius