Abe can catch 15 pounds of fish an hour or pick 30 pounds of fruit an hour. He works an 8 -hour day, spending 5 hours picking fruit and 3 hours catching fish. Calculate Abeʹs opportunity cost of a pound of fruit.
A) 3 hours a day
B) 2 pounds of fish
C) 6 minutes
D) 0.5 pounds of fish

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Abe's opportunity cost of fruits is the amount of fish he could have caught during those 5 hours, divided by the pounds of fruit he picked.

The amount of fish he could have caught in 5 hours is 15 pounds/hour x 5 hours = 75 pounds.

Therefore, the opportunity cost of a pound of fruit is 75 pounds of fish / 30 pounds of fruit = 2.5 pounds of fish per pound of fruit.

Rounded to the nearest half pound, his opportunity cost of a pound of fruit is 2 pounds of fish (since he can't physically catch half a pound of fish). Thus, the answer is D, 0.5 pounds of fish.

Abe Can Catch 15 Pounds of Fish an Hour or Pick