Since opening night, attendance at Play A has increased steadily, while attendance at Play B first rose and then fell. Equations modeling the daily attendance y at each play are shown below, where x is the number of days since opening night. On what day(s) was the attendance the same at both plays? What was the attendance?

Play A: y = 15x + 76

Play B: y = –x2 + 36x – 4

a. The attendance was the same on day 5. The attendance was 151 at both plays on that day.

b. The attendance was the same on day 16. The attendance was 316 at both plays on that day.

c. The attendance was the same on days 5 and 16. The attendance at both plays on those days was 151 and 316 respectively.

d. The attendance was never the same at both plays.

I think the answer is D.

Better recheck your numbers. C is correct. If the attendance was equal

15x + 76 = –x2 + 36x – 4
x^2-21x+80 = 0
(x-5)(x-16) = 0

Well, it seems like Play A and Play B can never agree on attendance! Maybe they just have different tastes in entertainment. So, the answer is indeed D - the attendance was never the same at both plays. Looks like there won't be any playdate for those two shows!

To determine the day(s) when the attendance was the same at both plays, we can set the two equations equal to each other and solve for x:

15x + 76 = -x^2 + 36x - 4

Rearranging the equation, we have:

x^2 + 21x - 80 = 0

Factoring the quadratic equation, we get:

(x + 16)(x - 5) = 0

This gives us two possible values for x: x = -16 and x = 5.

However, we are only interested in positive values for x since it represents the number of days since opening night. Therefore, the attendance was the same on day 5.

To find the attendance on day 5, we substitute x = 5 into either equation:

Play A: y = 15(5) + 76 = 151
Play B: y = -(5^2) + 36(5) - 4 = 151

Thus, the correct answer is:

c. The attendance was the same on days 5 and 16. The attendance at both plays on those days was 151 and 316 respectively.

To find the day(s) when the attendance was the same at both plays, we need to set the equations for Play A and Play B equal to each other and solve for x:

15x + 76 = -x^2 + 36x - 4

First, let's rearrange the equation:

x^2 - 21x + 80 = 0

Now, we can use the quadratic formula to solve for x:

x = (-b ± √(b^2 - 4ac)) / (2a)

In this case, a = 1, b = -21, and c = 80. Plugging these values into the quadratic formula:

x = (-(-21) ± √((-21)^2 - 4(1)(80))) / (2(1))
x = (21 ± √(441 - 320)) / 2
x = (21 ± √121) / 2
x = (21 ± 11) / 2

So, we have two possible values for x: (21 + 11) / 2 = 16 and (21 - 11) / 2 = 5.

Now, let's substitute these values back into the equations to find the attendance. Starting with Play A:

y = 15x + 76
For x = 5: y = 15(5) + 76 = 151
For x = 16: y = 15(16) + 76 = 316

Now, let's substitute these values back into the equation for Play B:

y = -x^2 + 36x - 4
For x = 5: y = -(5^2) + 36(5) - 4 = 151
For x = 16: y = -(16^2) + 36(16) - 4 = 316

So, the attendance was the same at both plays on day 5 and day 16. The attendance on those days was 151 and 316, respectively.

Therefore, the correct answer is c. The attendance was the same on days 5 and 16. The attendance at both plays on those days was 151 and 316, respectively.