I need help with assignment " Finding the Best Price" How do I write equation and plot prices.
Thank you very much. Show an example
Connections Academy
What have you learned from your assigned reading?
To write an equation and plot prices for finding the best price, follow these steps:
1. Gather the data: Obtain the prices for the item(s) you want to compare from different sources or sellers. Make sure you have at least two or more sets of data to compare.
2. Organize the data: Create a table or list to organize the prices you have collected. Label one column as "Seller/Source" and another column as "Price." Fill in the respective seller/source names and prices in the table.
3. Write an equation: To compare the prices mathematically, you can use either absolute or relative equations. The absolute equation calculates the exact difference between prices, while the relative equation represents the percentage difference between prices.
a. Absolute equation: The absolute equation is simple and can be written as: Price_difference = Price_1 - Price_2, where Price_1 and Price_2 are the two prices you want to compare.
b. Relative equation: The relative equation calculates the percentage difference between the prices using the following formula:
Percentage_difference = ((Price_2 - Price_1) / Price_1) * 100
4. Calculate the price differences: Use the equation you selected in step 3 to calculate the price differences for each pair of prices you collected.
5. Plotting prices: To visualize the price comparison, you can create a line graph or scatter plot. For a line graph, plot the seller/source names on the x-axis and the corresponding prices on the y-axis. Connect the points with lines. For a scatter plot, plot each seller/source on the x-axis and the respective price on the y-axis with individual data points.
Example:
Let's say you want to find the best price for a laptop. You collected the following prices from different sellers:
Seller/Source Price ($)
--------------------------
Seller A 700
Seller B 650
Seller C 680
To compare the prices, you can use the absolute equation:
Price_difference = Price_1 - Price_2
Price_difference_A_B = 700 - 650 = 50
Price_difference_A_C = 700 - 680 = 20
Price_difference_B_C = 650 - 680 = -30
Now, you can plot the prices on a graph:
700| *
| *
680|
|
660|
|
640|
| *
620| *
-------------------------
Seller A Seller B Seller C
In this example, Seller B offers the lowest price for the laptop. The graph allows you to visually compare the prices and make an informed decision about the best price.
Remember, when dealing with more sellers or data points, you can add more lines or points to the graph to represent the different prices.