Question

problem solving the table shows the annual profits (in thousands of dollars) of a county fair from 2013 to 2016. what must the 2017 profit be (in hundreds of dollars) to break even over the five-year period?
year | profit (thousands of dollars)
2013 | 2.5
2014 | 1.4
2015 | -3.3
2016 | -1.4
2017 | ?

Explanation:

Step1: Sum 2013-2016 profits

$2.5 + 1.4 + (-3.3) + (-1.4)$

Step2: Calculate total of known profits

$2.5 + 1.4 = 3.9$; $-3.3 + (-1.4) = -4.7$; $3.9 + (-4.7) = -0.8$

Step3: Find 2017 profit for break-even

Let $x$ = 2017 profit. Break-even means total = 0: $-0.8 + x = 0$ → $x = 0.8$ (thousands of dollars)

Step4: Convert to hundreds of dollars

$0.8 \times 10 = 8$

Answer:

8 hundreds of dollars