Question

A textile factory in the U.S. pays 475 workers a total of $12.75 million each year to produce 8.2 million pants. A Chinese factory employs 350 workers at a cost of $2.3 million to produce 4.3 million pants. How many pairs of Chinese pants can be made for the cost of one pair of American pants?

Answer 1

With a cost of $12.75 million, an American factory can produce 8.2 million pants. Therefore, every pair of American pants costs 12.75/8.2 = $1.55

Meanwhile, it cost $2.3 million to produce 4.3 million pants in a Chinese factory. Therefore, every pair of Chinese pants costs 2.3/4.3 = $0.53

Since 1.55/0.53 = 2.92, with the cost of one pair of American pants, almost 3 pairs of Chinese pants can be made.