The Millcreek watershed area was heavily strip mined for coal. Because of the resulting pollution, the streams

Question:

The Millcreek watershed area was heavily strip mined for coal. Because of the resulting pollution, the streams cannot support fish. Suppose the cost C of obtaining stream water that contains p percent of the current pollution levels is given by

where 0 < p < 100.

(a) Use the restriction on p and determine a range for C so that a graphing utility can be used to obtain an accurate graph. Then graph the equation.
(b) Describe what happens to the cost as p takes on values near 0.
(c) The point (1, 282,150) lies on the graph of this equation. Explain its meaning.
(d) Explain the meaning of the p-intercept.