A biologist studied the populations of common guppies and Endler's guppies over a 6-year period. The biologist modeled the populations, in tens of thousands, with the following polynomials where x is time, in years.
common guppies: 3.1x^2 + 6x + 0.3
Endler's guppies: 4.2x^2 - 5.2x + 1
What polynomial models the total number of common and Endler's guppies?
To find the total number of common and Endler's guppies, we simply need to add the polynomials representing their populations.
Total number of guppies = (3.1x^2 + 6x + 0.3) + (4.2x^2 - 5.2x + 1)
Total number of guppies = 3.1x^2 + 4.2x^2 + 6x - 5.2x + 0.3 + 1
Total number of guppies = 7.3x^2 + 0.8x + 1.3
Therefore, the polynomial that models the total number of common and Endler's guppies is 7.3x^2 + 0.8x + 1.3.