Solved on Dec 08, 2023

Find the number of books the publisher must produce and sell to break even, given fixed costs of $77,142\$77,142, variable costs of $8.25\$8.25 per book, and a selling price of $25.50\$25.50 per book.

STEP 1

Assumptions
1. The one-time fixed costs are $77,142\$77,142.
2. The variable cost per book is $8.25\$8.25.
3. The selling price per book is $25.50\$25.50.
4. The publisher wants to break even, meaning the production costs equal the money from sales.

STEP 2

Let's denote the number of books the publisher needs to produce and sell to break even as xx.

STEP 3

The total production costs can be calculated by adding the one-time fixed costs to the product of the variable cost per book and the number of books.
Totalproductioncosts=Fixedcosts+(Variablecostperbook×Numberofbooks)Total\, production\, costs = Fixed\, costs + (Variable\, cost\, per\, book \times Number\, of\, books)

STEP 4

The total money from sales can be calculated by multiplying the selling price per book by the number of books.
Totalmoneyfromsales=Sellingpriceperbook×NumberofbooksTotal\, money\, from\, sales = Selling\, price\, per\, book \times Number\, of\, books

STEP 5

To break even, the total production costs must equal the total money from sales.
Fixedcosts+(Variablecostperbook×x)=Sellingpriceperbook×xFixed\, costs + (Variable\, cost\, per\, book \times x) = Selling\, price\, per\, book \times x

STEP 6

Now, we can plug in the given values for the fixed costs, variable cost per book, and selling price per book into the equation.
$77,142+($8.25×x)=$25.50×x\$77,142 + (\$8.25 \times x) = \$25.50 \times x

STEP 7

To solve for xx, we need to isolate xx on one side of the equation. Let's distribute xx on both sides of the equation.
$77,142+$8.25x=$25.50x\$77,142 + \$8.25x = \$25.50x

STEP 8

Subtract $8.25x\$8.25x from both sides of the equation to get all the terms involving xx on one side.
$77,142=$25.50x$8.25x\$77,142 = \$25.50x - \$8.25x

STEP 9

Combine like terms on the right side of the equation.
$77,142=($25.50$8.25)x\$77,142 = (\$25.50 - \$8.25)x

STEP 10

Calculate the difference in the parentheses.
$77,142=($17.25)x\$77,142 = (\$17.25)x

STEP 11

Now, divide both sides of the equation by $17.25\$17.25 to solve for xx.
x=$77,142$17.25x = \frac{\$77,142}{\$17.25}

STEP 12

Calculate the value of xx.
x=$77,142$17.254472.4058x = \frac{\$77,142}{\$17.25} \approx 4472.4058

STEP 13

Since the publisher cannot produce and sell a fraction of a book, we round up to the next whole number.
x=4473x = 4473
The publisher must produce and sell 4,473 books to break even.

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