Economics Test Questions
Chapter 1
Susan has a part-time "cottage industry" producing seasonal plywood yard ornaments for resale at local craft fairs and bazaars. She currently works 8 hours per day to produce 16 ornaments.
a. What is her productivity?
b. She thinks that by redesigning the ornaments and switching from use of a wood glue to a hot-glue gun she can increase her total production to 20 ornaments per day. What is her new productivity?
c. What is her percentage increase in productivity?
a. 16 ornaments/8 hours = 2 ornaments/hour
b. 20 ornaments/8 hours = 2.5 ornaments/hour
c. Change in productivity = 0.5 ornaments/hour; percent change = 0.5/2= 25%
(The productivity challenge, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills
107. A firm cleans chemical tank …show more content…
cars in the Bay St. Louis area. With standard equipment, the firm typically cleaned 70 chemical tank cars per month. They utilized 10 gallons of solvent, and two employees worked 20 days per month, 8 hours a day. The company decided to switch to a larger cleaning machine.
Last April, they cleaned 60 tank cars in only 15 days. They utilized 12 gallons of solvent, and the two employees worked 6 hours a day.
1. What was their productivity with the standard equipment?
2. What is their productivity with the larger machine?
3. What is the change in productivity?
|Resource |Standard Equipment |Larger Machine |Percent Change |
|Solvent |70/10=7 |60/12=5 |5-7/7= -28.57% |
|Labor |70/320=.22 |60/180=.33 |.33-.22/.22=50% |
(The productivity challenge, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}
108. The Dulac Box plant produces wooden packing boxes to be used in the local seafood industry.
Current operations allow the company to make 500 boxes per day, in two 8-hour shifts (250 boxes per shift). The company has introduced some small changes in equipment, and conducted appropriate job training, so that production levels have risen to 300 boxes per shift. These changes did not require any change in the amount of capital spending or energy use. What is the firm's new labor
productivity?
600 boxes per day / 16 hours = 37.5 boxes per hour
(The productivity challenge, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}
Susan has a part-time "cottage industry" producing seasonal plywood yard ornaments for resale at local craft fairs and bazaars. She currently works 8 hours per day to produce 16 ornaments.
a. What is her productivity?
b. She thinks that by redesigning the ornaments and switching from use of a wood glue to a hot-glue gun she can increase her total production to 20 ornaments per day. What is her new productivity?
c. What is her percentage increase in productivity?
a. 16 ornaments/8 hours = 2 ornaments/hour
b. 20 ornaments/8 hours = 2.5 ornaments/hour
c. Change in productivity = 0.5 ornaments/hour; percent change = 0.5/2= 25%
(The productivity challenge, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills
107. A firm cleans chemical tank …show more content…
cars in the Bay St. Louis area. With standard equipment, the firm typically cleaned 70 chemical tank cars per month. They utilized 10 gallons of solvent, and two employees worked 20 days per month, 8 hours a day. The company decided to switch to a larger cleaning machine.
Last April, they cleaned 60 tank cars in only 15 days. They utilized 12 gallons of solvent, and the two employees worked 6 hours a day.
1. What was their productivity with the standard equipment?
2. What is their productivity with the larger machine?
3. What is the change in productivity?
|Resource |Standard Equipment |Larger Machine |Percent Change |
|Solvent |70/10=7 |60/12=5 |5-7/7= -28.57% |
|Labor |70/320=.22 |60/180=.33 |.33-.22/.22=50% |
(The productivity challenge, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}
108. The Dulac Box plant produces wooden packing boxes to be used in the local seafood industry.
Current operations allow the company to make 500 boxes per day, in two 8-hour shifts (250 boxes per shift). The company has introduced some small changes in equipment, and conducted appropriate job training, so that production levels have risen to 300 boxes per shift. These changes did not require any change in the amount of capital spending or energy use. What is the firm's new labor
productivity?
600 boxes per day / 16 hours = 37.5 boxes per hour
(The productivity challenge, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}