Tricky worded basic math. Has whole class + teacher in debate

Byron

New member
Joined
May 1, 2014
Messages
1
Im studying business management in Denmark, as the only native English speaker in the class i need help clarifying this problem. The class seems split 50/50 including the teacher on what the right answer is.

Question:
A company processes feathers and ships them loose in a covered truck. The line-haul cost for an average shipment is $400, and the truck carries 2000 pounds of feathers. A bright new graduate has just been hired and has suggested that they should bale the feathers into 500-pound bales. This would make them easier to handle and also allow them to be compressed into about one-tenth of the space they now occupy. How many pounds of feathers can the truck now carry? What is the present line-haul cost per pound? What will it be if the proposal is adopted.

The confusion seems to be, would the feathers once compressed take up 1/10 of the original 2000 pounds or 500 pound bales take up 10th of the truck space
Line-haul cost equation is just cost/weight

Many thanks for the help!
 
Im studying business management in Denmark, as the only native English speaker in the class i need help clarifying this problem. The class seems split 50/50 including the teacher on what the right answer is.

Question:
A company processes feathers and ships them loose in a covered truck. The line-haul cost for an average shipment is $400, and the truck carries 2000 pounds of feathers. A bright new graduate has just been hired and has suggested that they should bale the feathers into 500-pound bales. This would make them easier to handle and also allow them to be compressed into about one-tenth of the space they now occupy. How many pounds of feathers can the truck now carry? What is the present line-haul cost per pound? What will it be if the proposal is adopted.

The confusion seems to be, would the feathers once compressed take up 1/10 of the original 2000 pounds or 500 pound bales take up 10th of the truck space
"Compressed" would mean they take up 1/10 of the space. "Compressing" something reduces its volume, not mass or weight (that's not "English", it is "conservation of mass".). As far as volume is concerned you could put 10 times as much, or 20000 pounds of feathers on the truck. Whether the truck can hold that weight is different matter!

Line-haul cost equation is just cost/weight

Many thanks for the help!
 
Last edited:
Top