Productivity and Yield of Cultivated Crops Are Often Reduced by Insect

question 134

Essay

Productivity and yield of cultivated crops are often reduced by insect pests. The following graph shows the relationship between the yield of a certain crop, , as a function of the density of aphids x. (Aphids are small insects that suck plant juices.) Here, is measured in kilograms/ 4,000 square meters, and x is measured in hundreds of aphids/bean stem. By computing the slopes of the respective tangent lines, estimate the rate of change of the crop yield with respect to the density of aphids when that density is 200 aphids/bean stem and when it is 800 aphids/bean stem.

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Definitions:

Operate

To control the functioning of a machine, process, or system.

Decreasing-Cost Industry

An industry where input costs tend to fall as the industry as a whole expands its output.

LRAC Curve

The Long Run Average Cost curve shows the lowest possible average cost of production at different levels of output when all inputs are variable.

Entry

The act or process of entering into a market as a new supplier or producer, often facing barriers such as high startup costs or regulations.