Linear

Application Problems
Linear Models Problems

1) What are the variables in this problem?

2) What do these variables represent? (can you describe what they represent?)
3) What points are given?
4) Is the slope given? If not, find it.
5) Plug in to y = mx + b (if you know m and b) or use y - y1 = m(x - x1).
6) Replace y with the function name. (for example, C(x))
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NOTE: The numbering corresponds to the numbering in the homework.
1. A pre-paid cell phone company charges $18.75 as a monthly access fee and $0.10 per minute
of calling time.
Express the monthly cost as a function of , the number of minutes used.
What will the monthly cost be if you make 397 minutes of calls this month?
2. Jane has a pre-paid cell phone with Splint. She can't remember the exact costs, but her plan
has a monthly fee and a charge for each minute of calling time. In June she used 210 minutes
and the cost was $143.00. In July she used 720 minutes and the cost was $398.00.
A) Express the monthly cost as a function of , the number of minutes of calling time she
used.

B) If Jane used 868 minutes of calling time in August, how much was her bill?
3. The population of a small town in central Florida has shown a linear decline in the years
1991-2002. In 1991 the population was 22100 people. In 2002 it was 17700 people.
A) Write a linear equation expressing the population of the town, P, as a function of t, the
number of years since 1991.

B) If the town is still experiencing a linear decline, what will the population be in 2007?

5. Entomologists are biological scientists who study insects. Entomologists studying tree
crickets have found that they chirp at different rates depending on the temperature.
The number of chirps per minute, C, that the tree cricket makes is linearly dependent on the
temperature, T, in Fahrenheit. The crickets do not chirp at all below 39 degrees and at 67
degrees they chirp about 126 times per minute.
A) Express the number of chirps, C, as a function of the temperature, T. Be sure to use function
notation.
B) How many chirps per minute will crickets make at 87 degrees?

6. Manufacturing companies usually have two types of costs. Fixed costs, sometimes called
overhead, are costs that are not related to the number of items manufactured. Fixed costs
include things like rent, a base level of utilities, and a base level of salaries and must be paid
even if the company does not make any products. Variable costs depend on the number of
items manufactured. Variable costs include things like parts and raw materials for the
products, higher utilities, and higher salaries. As a manufacturing company increases the
number of items it produces, the fixed costs do not change, but the variable costs increase.
One company manufactures high-end racing bicycles. The monthly fixed costs are $3615. The
total cost to manufacture 25 bikes is $20990. Assume that total cost, C, is linearly related to the
number of bicycles, x, that the company manufactures.
A) The cost function is:
B) The total cost to manufacture 36 bikes is $
C) The cost to produce each additional bike is $
10. In Washington County, the fine for speeding is $ 100 plus $ 12 for every mile per hour over
the speed limit. On a certain stretch of road the speed limit is 55 miles per hour.
Determine the function that gives the fine if a person is driving miles per hour. Make
sure to use function notation.
If a person is driving 67 miles per hour, what is the fine?
If a fine comes to $ 160, how fast in miles per hour was the person driving?
11. A company discovers that to produce = 850 new electronic parts, it will cost =
$49,400. To produce 810 new electronic parts, it will cost $47,240.

Compute the average rate of change of the cost and choose the most accurate statement from
the following:
Cost is increasing at a rate of $56 per item.
Cost is decreasing at a rate of $56 per item.
Cost is increasing at a rate of $50 per item.
Cost is increasing at a rate of $54 per item.
Cost is decreasing at a rate of $54 per item.
Cost is decreasing at a rate of $50 per item.