A restaurant hires cooks and waiters. Cooks earn $10 an hour; waiters earn $5 an hour. The manager, who wants to maximize the number of meals served given a fixed payroll of $45 per hour, expects the following from cooks and waiters:

$$\begin{array} { c c c }
\text { Meaber of emplayees } & \begin{array} { c }
\text { Total raznber of medis served } \
\text { Cooks }
\end{array} & \begin{array} { c }
\text { Waiters }
\end{array} \
\hline 1 & 200 & 120 \
2 & 380 & 230 \
3 & 540 & 310 \
4 & 660 & 360 \
5 & 740 & 390
\end{array}$$
-At the optimal choice, the last dollar spent on hiring waiters yielded

Question

A restaurant hires cooks and waiters. Cooks earn $10 an hour; waiters earn $5 an hour. The manager, who wants to maximize the number of meals served given a fixed payroll of $45 per hour,  expects the following from cooks and  waiters:

$$\begin{array} { c c c } 
\text { Meaber of emplayees } & \begin{array} { c } 
\text { Total raznber of medis served } \
\text { Cooks }
\end{array} & \begin{array} { c } 
\text { Waiters }
\end{array} \
\hline 1 & 200 & 120 \
2 & 380 & 230 \
3 & 540 & 310 \
4 & 660 & 360 \
5 & 740 & 390
\end{array}$$
-At the optimal choice, the last dollar spent on hiring waiters yielded

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The marginal product of the last waiter hired is 60 meals (390 - 360). Since waiters earn $5 an hour, the last dollar spent on hiring waiters yields 60/5 = 12 additional meals. However, none of the options match this exactly, so the closest option is 6 additional meals.

A Restaurant Hires Cooks and Waiters -At the Optimal Choice, the Last Dollar Spent on Hiring