The school band sells carnations in Valentine’s Day for $2 each. It buys the carnations from a florist for $0.50 each plus $16 delivery charge. When will the cost of the carnations be equal to the profit from selling them? How many carnations does it need to sell to reach this point?
If the band bought 1 carnation(s), the total would be $16.50 and selling the carnations for $2 will rip off the band. If they bought 5 carnation(s) then $18.50 would be the bands total. Selling 5 carnations for 2$ would be a rip off also. What about 10 carnation(s)? 10 times $0.50 is $5.00, as well as 16 delievery charge. $21 is the bands total. Almost there! The band will make $20, but will end up spending an extra on the carnation fee. 11 times $0.50 is $5.50 plus $16 for the charge. $21.50 is the total payed towards the carnations. 2 times 11 is 22, and the band will make $0.50 from this. The band needs to sell 10.5 to make exactly how much they pay for the carnations. But you cannot have half a flower. So in a summary, the band will need to pay either one extra dollar or make $0.50 to pay for about how much they bought the carnations for.
